Fall Seven Times
by parisindy
Summary: The Universe is an unforgiving place, Rules were made to be broken, What you believe isn't always the truth. Three Parts Dead Continues...
1. Chapter 1

**Fall Seven Times**

TITLE: Fall Seven Times

AUTHOR: Parisindy

RATING: PG 13 – R

DISCLAIMER: No money was received or exchanged.  
We do not own Andromeda or any of its Characters.  
This is purely for fun.

ARCHIVE: only MW can archive it anyone else has to ask first.

SUMMARY: Sequel to **Three Parts Dead**

NOTES: Thanks to ElJay for Being my Beta reader, and Jips for the plot bunny and the Banner and thank you to the CC H20's for the inspiration

* * *

_"Fall seven times, stand up eight." _

_**Japanese Proverb**_

_To be a part of something greater then yourself, to think beyond who you are and where you have been--to be completely alive in the moment and think, 'Yes, this is where I'm meant to be'--this must be akin to heaven._

_**Reverend Behemial Far-Traveler. Circa AFC 309**_

* * *

I see a small house on a hill. The wind rushes over the rocks from the harbor and beats against its walls. After years of abuse the building leans to the left in a vain attempt to escape its tormentor. You can see through the walls and the salt from the nearby ocean leaves stains on the floor. Soon it just might slide down the hill to the water and float away. Sometimes it shakes, but it knows where it belongs. Living ghosts haunt its halls but they cannot walk through the walls that have been set. Only love can do that. 

Alarms sounded and blue lights flashed. Harper bolted up in bed gasping awake as the ship jolted with the impact of something hitting her hull.

"Rommie, what's happening?"

The holographic avatar flickered in to place beside his bed.

"We are under attack by unknown Ogami forces, Dylan requests you go to the slipstream core and direct repairs. That first shot skewed my GFG lens."

"Dammit, the Ogami again?"

Rommie gave a small nod, "Fourth time this week."

Harper leapt out of bed but was tangled in his sheets and tripped to the floor. "Gah!" His knee banged on some miscellaneous tool hidden under a pile of dirty clothes. He then let out a string of swear words that would have made a prostitute on Constitution Drift blush. His head was still foggy from having that damned dream again. He couldn't seem to shake thing from his brain.

"Harper! Language!" the avatar admonished him. "You better hurry."

"Yeah, yeah, tell Dylan I'm on my way!" He quickly freed himself from his sheets and found a relatively clean pair of pants from the floor and pulled them on. Grabbing a not so clean t-shirt, he ran out the door dressing as he went.

His boots pounded the deck heavily. He wheezed despite himself and pulled a rag from his pocket as he paused only slightly to sneeze. He rubbed at his ear as he continued his run. It never really healed since he got beat up by those Ubers and now everything seemed muffled. They were probably plugged from whatever thing he had picked up this time.

_Damn cold!_

Explosions caused him to stagger in the corridor and he soon found his feet again. _No, rest for the wicked or the sick. _Beka had bugged him all day yesterday to get Trance to check him out. It was ridiculous to run to Med Deck for every little thing. He finally convinced Beka that he would go to bed and get some extra sleep to see if he could kick it on his own, but he still felt like crap.

He rounded the corner and slid in to the vast area that held the slipstream drive. He bounded up to the control panel to check the status of his beloved ship. "Boss," he shouted, "This is not good! The GFG Lens is toast and the AG field generator is failing. I can reroute power temporarily but you need to get us some down time for repairs!"

Captains Hunt's voice filtered through the intercom system. "Working on it Mister Harper. Do what you can."

The intercom flickered off just as he heard Beka shout something in the background about asteroids. "Ah, swell," He muttered under his breath. His chest suddenly seized and he was sent in to a fit of coughing.

Rommie flickered in beside him. "Harper are you okay?"

He wheezed as he caught his breath, "Yeah," he coughed. "Never better."

"When you are done report to sick bay."

"Rommie, I'm…"

"That was an order."

Harper stared at her angrily for a moment, but he had no time for this now. "Whatever," he replied with bitterness in his voice as he turned back to his work. He loved Rommie but some days he really hated being the lowest ranking member of this crew.

* * *

"Harper has made it to the slipstream drive and is currently working on repairs," Rommie informed the crew. 

"Thank Goodness," muttered Beka not quite under her breath.

Tyr watched Beka bob and weave in the slip chair. These constant attacks by the Ogami had grown wearisome. Still, despite what he would have them believe he would miss this place when he left. He had been planning for months. Ever since The Commonwealth became a force to be reckoned with again. Soon he would have to tell the good Captain Hunt of his plans but not quite yet; for now he would bide his time.

His one true concern was for the boy. Initially he had distanced himself, but it seemed this human had an uncanny ability of endearing himself to others. The child was precocious, annoying, and disobedient. Harper would have made a good Nietzschean if he didn't have the tendency to pick up every bacterium and virus that came within a hundred miles of him.

Once this latest crusade of Dylan's was over, he would have to have a talk with the boy; for the moment there was nothing he could do about any of the threads of concerns that filtered through his mind so he returned his focus to the fight at hand.

An Ogami fighter swerved right in to his line of fire; Tyr let loose with a photonic missile and obliterated it without batting an eye. "Oh, come on, show some originality at least!" he shouted at the forward screen.

The rest of the Ogami fighters dispersed like scattered seeds and exited into multiple slip points.

"Bored, Tyr?" Dylan asked with a smirk.

"They peck at us like birds but they don't they get down to business. They rush in … fire a few volleys and disappear. What's the point?"

"We promised the Sedley Alliance of Planets that would keep the Ogami Pirates from over-running their trade routes. They need time to regroup their task force from the raids earlier this month."

"Do not disguise you ulterior motive, Captain Hunt," Tyr Sneered. "We're playing nice in the hope they will join your Commonwealth."

Dylan turned on the Nietzschean then. "We are helping a group of people in need Tyr. It's their choice as to whether to join the Commonwealth or not."

"They are a weak; if they cannot survive with out someone's protection what choice do they have?"

Dylan look annoyed. "Tyr, we are teaching them to be self-reliant."

"Self-reliant? Or, just reliant?" Tyr returned.

"Tyr--walk with me now!"

Tyr shrugged and followed the good Captain out in to the hall. He was growing tired of all this. He respected Captain Hunt, but he would need to move on soon. They were both ambitious men and they both had their ulterior motives. This was becoming all too obvious and if there was one thing Tyr hated, it was being obvious. After all, unpredictability was the mark of a successful--and long-lived--soldier.

* * *

Attack over, emergency repairs over; Seamus sat on the med deck bed swinging his legs back and forth, looking more than a little bored as once again Beka and Trance discussed his situation. 

"He's definitely picked up a virus from somewhere," Trance confirmed. "But it's not serious. I've given him some antibodies that should fix the situation pretty quickly. He'll be feeling better in no time." Trance turned to a nearby cart to prepare the medical injector.

"I felt fine before," muttered Harper under his breath, his eyes never leaving the deck.

Beka didn't believe him for a second and ignored the comment all together. Instead, she chose to address Trance. "But where did he get it from? He hasn't been off the ship in 2 months and I have Rommie run regular scans. This ship should be a bug-free zone; I don't get it! Plus shouldn't he be growing? In the three years he's been here he's only grown out of one set of clothes. He's wrecked about fifty but …."

Harper took exception to the conversation again. "Hey, I'm growing, I'm a whole inch taller then I was a couple of weeks ago!"

Beka turned to him with a sad smiled. "Kiddo, you just need a hair cut."

He stared back at her icily. "What's so great about being tall anyways?"

Trance held the injector to harpers neck and administered his medicine.

"It doesn't matter how tall you are Harper, really; I'm just worried about the lack of growth overall," Beka continued.

Trance took the time to chime in there. "Actually, I've been worried about that too. I've been monitoring Harper and …"

Harper's mouth dropped open. "You've been monitoring me?"

"Well, not all the time. Rommie does that, I was just…"

"Have either of you ever once considered asking me about anything?"

Beka knew something was wrong with him. Harper had always been touchy about his health, but lately everything seemed to piss him off. "Kid, cool your jets! You haven't been the most approachable lately. You've been moody; in fact you've been down right grouchy. Trance says you haven't been sleeping, you seem distracted and you've been pushing yourself too hard. When was the last time you had a full meal?"

Harper fidgeted with the seam of his pants angrily and didn't answer.

Beka continued, her rant. "I don't want to have to start monitoring your meals again, but if Trance is worried enough about you to start monitoring your health then maybe we should. Something's wrong and if you're going to continue to hide in the conduits for days at a time instead of talking to me, what am I suppose to do?" Beka threw her hands in the air in frustration.

Harper had worried a small hole in the leg of his pants now. "I'm not avoiding you; I just haven't felt like … I don't know. I just sort of feel like being alone right now. Maybe I need a break."

Trance looked on fondly as Beka knelt before him, moving his hand away from the hole he had created. "I think a rest is a good idea."

He jerked his head up in surprise. "Really? You mean it? I can go down to one of the Sedley planets! I heard about this great spot where…"

Beka cut him off; it was hard to say no but it was for his own good. "Harper, the planets, no. I was thinking more you and I could take a spin in the Maru. I'll even let you fly."

Harper's face filled with disappointment; the spark she had rekindled faded instantly. "But…"

Beka squeezed his hand. "Come on, Harper." Beka tipped his chin up so she could look him in the eye. "You know these are trade planets. The Drago-Kasov are active here. You are still on their most wanted list. Besides, you've already picked up a bug and the Andromeda couldn't be more sanitary. After this assignment is over, I'll get Dylan to take us to Anwar drift, you liked it there."

"After! That could be months!" It sounded whiney even to him and he screwed up his face in disgust.

Beka knew the kid just needed to get out. He was going stir crazy. Unfortunately, there was still a problem. Seamus Harper wasn't like other kids. Most 16- or 17-year-old kids weren't being Hunted for blowing up factories. Beka rubbed a hand over her face. "Seamus," she started but didn't finish. "No… you know what? Okay you're right."

"What?" Trance and Harper both gasped in unison at Beka's abrupt turn around.

"It's not fair for me to keep you cooped up here. But I have conditions."

Harper was beaming. If he smiled any bigger his face would crack in half. "Yeah, sure, anything!"

"I get to chaperone. And you never leave my side. Not for a second!"

Harper leaped up from the table and threw his arms around Beka excitedly. "You're the best!"

"I'm not done. You don't leave my side, you'll have to wear a disguise and when we get back, you let Trance give you a full medical without complaint."

"Awww, Beka!"

"Those are my terms. Take them or leave them." Beka was firm.

"Fine, fine; when do we leave?" Harper was practically bouncing on the spot.

"Tomorrow, but--"

"Aw, man I can't wait! I'm going to have dig through Rommie's archives to find the best spots to buy hover boards, and I want to look to look for some parts for Rommie, and… aww man I got lots to do!" Harper bounded towards the door then back to Beka giving her another quick squeeze. "Thanks boss, this is going to be great!"

Beka smiled and shook her head as he raced out the door.

Trance giggled at his antics; his excitement was infectious. "You made him very happy, Beka."

"I just hope we live to regret it. " Beka paused before continuing, the next question was a sore spot with Harper so she wanted to make sure he was really gone. "How's his hearing coming along?"

Trance's smile faded slightly. "The new medical Nanobots have helped a bit. As far as I can gauge his hearing is up to 62 in his right ear."

Beka noticed the information that her team mate skipped over. "And, the left?"

Trance sighed, "Still only 38."

Beka frowned and her brow creased with concern. _Harper just never seemed to get any breaks._ "I'm hoping the trip tomorrow will cheer him up a bit. He's not been himself. He's been locking himself up in the machine shop more and more. He needs to come up for air once in a while. I'm worried about him."

Trance smiled slyly. "If you weren't worried then I_ would _be concerned."

Beka laughed and punched her friend on the shoulder lightly. "Wise ass!"

tbc


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the next part…thanks for all the reviews guys and thanks to Eljay for the beta once again

((hugs))

hehe and any review that's starts with the word "dude' makes me smile

* * *

The drift smelled wonderful, so many different scents to entice some one. Harper stood on his tiptoes in the middle of the market promenade trying to discern where this one came from. _Roast Kageni nuts from three stalls down? Maybe. Super conductor fluid from one of the parts suppliers? Nah, but maybe…_

"Harper!"

He jumped despite himself. The noise of the crowd really messed up his hearing. There were just to many sounds at once and it quickly became apparent that Beka had been calling him for a while.

She pushed her way through a small throng of people to grab his jacket sleeve with a scowl. The surprisingly strong fighter captain then proceeded to drag him forward like a disobedient five-year-old. "I said stay close, you know there could be Dragos on this drift."

"Ah, freaking hell Beka, I wasn't ten feet away from you. Besides I don't _really_ need a chaperone any more. I can take care of myself." Harper pushed his goggles up on his nose annoyed. The goggles needed new straps and therefore kept sliding down his face. They were a poor disguise but it was the only one he could think of at the time.

Beka turned on him angrily. "Watch your language! And what about two years ago, when…"

"I know, I know; I was there remember! You and Tyr had to come and rescue me," Harper rolled his eyes. "But gads, Beka that was a long time ago! I was a newbie then. I'm nearly seventeen now."

"And yet you still act like a two-year-old! You're a wanted man! I'm not going to let some Nietzschean Warlord take you away again."

He paused allowing some of her anger to dissipate before continuing softly, "No one's going to take me away. Beka, I can't live the rest of my life in fear. Someday you're going to have to trust me to take care of myself. I'm not a kid anymore."

"Well, Mister Mature, I am also your Captain and unless you want to end up in the brig, you will follow my orders!"

"Your Orders!" His own temper kicked in full force then and he threw his hands up in disgust. "You never order Rev Bem to follow you around on your damned shopping sprees! You're so freaking unreasonable!"

"Shopping Spree! We're collecting parts for _your_ repairs and your hover board!" Beka raged, as people in the market slowed down to watch the commotion.

Harper reached forward and pulled a couple of flexies out of Beka's bag. "These don't look like welding rods, filler rods or soldering flux. Holo-novels won't fix the ship, Beka! Plus we've been shopping all day and we haven't done anything remotely fun yet."

"You know, you are the one who begged to go down to the planet. I could have left you on the ship!"

Suddenly a large dark hand separated the two. "If you cannot control yourselves you both should have stayed on the ship! You've both drawn more attention than we need." Tyr motioned with his head towards the forming crowd and two Drago-Kazov that had just joined the on lookers.

Beka had looked like she was going to continue arguing until she saw the new arrivals. "Crap, let's go!"

"But I still need the parts! I never get to do anything cool!" Harper whined.

"Now!" Beka growled through clenched teeth.

"No, that's it! I told you I wanted some time to be alone. All I wanted was a little bit of freedom but no, I couldn't even have that! Well, I've had enough! Screw you guys!" With that he turned and ran off in to the crowd.

* * *

Harper ran through the crowd paying little attention to where he was going. He ran like there were Magog on his heels. He needed to escape… from something…he wasn't even sure what anymore. He ran for what seemed like forever but when his cough returned he was forced to slow down. He stopped placing his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. He wasn't on the main strip anymore, but it certainly looked more interesting then the trader's stalls Beka hauled him around to.

The streets here were dirty not like the pristine ones in the shopping area. Different drinking establishments and bordellos lined the narrow street. A guy could get in to some real trouble here. The thought made him smile. He would show Beka he could take care of himself. He could always head back to the Maru in a few hours. Beka was going to kill him now anyways… he might as well have some fun first.

Feeling relaxed for the first time in days he wandered down the streets reading the signs as he went. They were all written in Vedran; Rev Bem's language lessons were finally proving themselves useful. Though he was pretty sure Rev hadn't taught him some of the words on purpose. He finally spotted one that looked interesting enough for him to want to check it out. The name on the door read 'The Escape.' The irony wasn't lost on him, so he gave it a try.

The heavy door pushed aside to reveal a dimly lit room filled with an impenetrable smoky haze. Booths lined the walls and tables with chairs filled in the spaces. There were lowlifes of all types mingling and drinking but the murmurs of conversations were much lower than that of the crowded market place. Harper decided to sidle up to the bar the occupied the very centre of the room. Climbing on to a stool he waited for someone to take his order.

He let his eyes scan the room for Dragos and a back exit just in case.

"Buddy?"

"Huh, What?" Harper spun back towards the bar.

"You want a drink or what?"

When Harper's eyes met the Bartender's; his heart stopped beating and his mouth fell open. She was gorgeous! Next to Rommie she was the most beautiful woman, er … Alien that he had ever seen. Her skin gleamed like alabaster and her eyes shone like emeralds and her long blue hair fell past her shoulders in a wave. She wore tight black t-shirt that clung to her curves in a very suggestive manner.

"Eye's up top buddy! What you want?"

"Erm, uhmm a beer."

"Beer, nobody orders that crap, fine I'll see if I can find some in the back. Hey, are you even old enough to be in here?"

Harper blinked in surprise. "You mean there is an age limit on Beer?"

"On all alcoholic drinks, everyone knows that! Just where are you from?"

"Ear… Um, the Andromeda."

This time the girl seemed surprised. Then a suspicious grin crossed her plump pink lips. "You're full of crap."

Harper bristled; _she thinks I'm too much of a kludge to be a crewmember!_ "Am too! I'm the engineer! In fact I'm the only one they got!"

The shapely girls eye brows shot up. "Let me see your I-dent chip."

Harper pulled the small chip attached to a chain from his pocket.

"Wow, I'm impressed," the girl wet her lips with her forked tongue as she read his identification. "Seamus, huh?"

"Harper," he corrected.

A greasy man from the corner yelled out to the bombshell of a bartender. "Fena, you have other customers!"

"Yeah, yeah," She waved him off seemingly unconcerned. Then to Harper she smiled as she read his ID, "It's weird you chip doesn't have your age." She shrugged then, "I didn't realize they hired babies in the Commonwealth these days. Or maybe it's just you have a baby face."

"Ha, ha." Harper replied sarcastically.

"Look I think you're cute. And well what you guys are doing to helps us with the Ogami is a big deal so I'll get you a beer… but just one okay? I don't want to lose my job. There is no way you're nineteen."

Harper nodded absently, still attempting not to stare at things he shouldn't be, but also not wanting to look away.

Fena smirked at him and drifted away to take a few more orders and then she headed to the back room to get his beer.

Harper blinked. It felt like he hadn't done that in a long while.

"Wow."

He picked at the scratches that scored the bar, wondering if he should make a move on her or not. If you had to be nineteen to drink beer you probably had to be that old to sell it. She would probably laugh at him for trying. _Every guy that walks in here probably hits on her. _

Fena returned, swaying her hips as she walked back with his beer. She set the dusty bottle on a napkin and slid it towards him with a wink before taking the order for the guy beside him.

He took a sip of his beer and tried to think of something other than the girl, so he looked down at the napkin. Scrawled on the paper was the name, 'Fena,' and her contact information.

He took another sip of his beer trying to hide his grin. Other than his fight with Beka it had been a damn good day.

* * *

tbc 


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to Eljay my beta

Thanks to AA for fixing my coding and

Thanks for the reviews Dudes!

* * *

Beka paced in front of the Eureka Maru's air lock as Tyr looked on. "If the Drago's don't kill him I will!" she fumed. 

Tyr shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. "He's like a lost canine, he'll find his way home eventually. There are only two things you can do, let him go or teach him his place."

"He'd be pissed at you comparing him to a dog, Tyr. Still, he should know the rules by now! It's been three years since you and I pulled him of that Magog infested rock! Yet, he keeps pushing and pushing.… Doesn't he appreciate what we've done for him?"

Tyr stepped forward and grabbed her by the shoulders stopping both her pacing and her ranting. "Reminding him at every turn that he should be grateful for everything won't help him to accept what he has. It will only further his belief that he is different and it will make him resentful."

"He … he thinks he's different?" Beka couldn't help but feel a little hurt. "Does he talk to you? What does he say? I tried but lately it's like we can't say two words to each other with out it breaking out in to a shouting match."

Tyr let his arms drop from her shoulders. "He talks to me in as much as he talks to anyone. I've never heard someone talk so much and say so little. But if you listen closely he gives you clues." Tyr shook his head, "The boy is an enigma. Kodiak children are much more demanding and straightforward." Tyr paused lost in thought. "He is still learning, that is why he pushes you. He wants to know where his limits lie."

Beka started pacing again but much of her fury was gone. "I've known him for three years now and at times I watch him and I feel like I'm watching a stranger. Sometimes I feel like he changes right before my very eyes. I don't want to drive him away by not allowing him to do the things he wants to. But, at the same time I'm terrified he will do something reckless and I'll lose him forever. I've lost a lot of people in my life I don't want to lose anymore."

"The boy doesn't even know who he is and you're sending him mixed signals, he's confused."

Beka gave a wry smile then. "He's not the only one. I've never done this before remember?"

"Nor have I, but it is my deepest desire to one day be a father, to have someone to carry on my lineage. I have no child of my own but I am no stranger to lessons of my own parents." Tyr paused and stepped forward slightly. "One of my greatest lessons was to know eventually we will all have to let go."

Beka sighed as she gazed out the airlock. Her memories carrying her back to her own childhood. "My father taught me lessons as too, but they were a little more unconventional." She smiled then, thinking of her own father. "And, I'm not sure they would apply here. Harper and I don't have a lot in common. Do you think he will carry away from us the stuff he'll need for his life? I mean how will I know when to let go. Right now I'm not sure that I can."

Tyr joined her watching the nighttime crowd shuffle its way by the Maru and out of the spaceport. People laughed and joked. Some even staggered having already had a bit too much fun. "I think he learns something every day. When the time comes you will know. I watch you too Captain Valentine, and you are more alike then you realize. Every being has the same basic needs. To be wanted, to feel important. Find out what gives him strength and you will begin to unlock his secrets."

Beka laughed. "You make him sound like the Diary of the Mad Persied or the Hegemon's Heart."

"A treasure is a treasure," smiled Tyr mysteriously as he headed off towards the bunkrooms.

Beka turned her attention back to the crowd scanning it for any sign of their runaway delinquent. "Well he'll be a sunken treasure if he doesn't get his skinny ass back here soon."

* * *

_It had been a good night….No, it had been a great night!_ He couldn't think help but think of all the fun he had and that it was worth all the flack Beka and the other's were going to give him. Who knew the Andromeda was so famous? As soon as he told people that he was the engineer on the Andromeda he couldn't fight off the offers for a drink. He just hoped the Beka had waited for him or else he was really screwed. 

He smiled when he saw the Maru sitting off in the distance. He really did trust her even when he knew she was pissed off at him. She wouldn't leave him behind. "Good ol' Beka!" he slurred out loud. Things seemed to be going his way tonight. Brendan would have liked Beka; after all he had always said blondes were the best.

Harper was still trying to remember the words to the song Brendan used to sing about a man from Nantucket, when he staggered up the Maru's ramp. It took him a moment to pull the code to unlock the door from his fogged brain. He giggled at himself when he failed for the third time. Finally on the 8th attempt the lock hissed open. Hopefully they were all asleep and he wouldn't have to face judgment until the morning.

He pulled off his boots, nearly tipping over. _This needed to be a stealth operation. _

He slid silently through the door closing it and locking it behind him. He turned so he could creep off to his bunk when he literally came nose to nose with a very pissed off Space Captain. He yelped with surprise but then did his best to sound casual. "Oh hey, Boss!"

Beka glared at him with arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently.

"Don't you dare 'boss' me Seamus Zelazny Harper! Do you know what time it is?"

He tried but he but he couldn't stop the smile from surfacing on his face. "Actually, I have no idea. But, Beka I had the best night!" He waved his hands in the air excitedly as he talked nearly dropping his boots. He wanted to tell about all the stuff he had seen and did he was tired of the fighting. "There was this gurrl, I mean girl. Erm...Female, well I think she was female…whatever--she was hot! And, I got her contact information! I think she had a thing for Engineers" Harper tried to pull the paper from his pockets but this time the boots did slip from his arms and he nearly tipped over in an attempt to save them. "In fact everyone seemed impressed that I could keep Rommie running all by myself. They kept wanting to buy me drinks…everyone was really nishhh. I mean nice. And…Whoa, dizzy!"

Beka quickly grabbed the back of his shirt both to make sure he stayed upright and to drag him forward towards his bunk. "Forget the boots, forget the number, and forget everything!"

"Hey, aww come on Beka don't be mad! I'm sorry."

"Don't you dare use those puppy dog eyes on me. It won't work this time! You're drunk, you took off on me and you probably caught every virus there is on this trash heap. You're a menace to yourself and to the members of this crew and I won't stand for it! You are so grounded!"

Harper grew defensive even in his sodden frame of mind. "Grounded? What do you mean grounded? How can I be grounded while I'm in space? Is it just me or are you not making sense? And, besides I'd never do anything to harm Rommie or anyone else you know that!"

"Really; you knew that?" Beka stopped so suddenly Harper crashed into her causing them both to stumble. "And, how safe do you think it is allowing strangers to know you are the Andromeda's engineer, huh? Our _only _engineer! That's classified information!"

"I'm classified? Cool!"

"Well not since you blabbed it all over the planet! We talked about it at the last meeting! Were you even paying attention?"

"Aw, give me a break," he whined. "Dylan, can drone on for hours. You can't expect me to listen to everything he says."

Beka continued to drag him down the hall but instead of turning in to the bunkroom like he expected she pushed him towards Trance's small hydroponics room. "Wait; where're we going? I hate hydroponics—it always smells like compost!"

"You're staying here," Beka snapped as she pushed him forward. "Harper, it is your responsibility and duty to pay attention to the things we say! And, tonight you blew it in more ways than one! You're to stay in the room until further notice!"

With that Beka slammed the door and he could hear the door click as it locked.

* * *

tbc 


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews gangs you are the best! You guys are a bunch of good eggs!

Thanks to Eljay for being my beta…

Just a snippet for now…

* * *

The flight back to the Andromeda wasn't long. He spent most of the time lying on the cot in Trance's small room, pouting and trying to plug his nose against the constant smell of compost. Once back, Beka had 'escorted' him to medical. On med-deck he was scanned, pocked, prodded and received yet another lecture, this time from Trance. He was then banished to his quarters indefinitely. He was under strict orders by _Captain Valentine_; he was to stay in his quarters or machine shop 17 no other deviations were allowed. His meals would be brought to him.

Harper lay in his bunk gazing up at the ceiling. It was late but his mind kept replaying the days over and over again in his mind.

Trance's concerned questions echoed in his head. "Why do you take the risks Harper? Don't you like what you already have? What are you looking for?"

He had stuttered out an answer to her then. "I-I don't know."

Now when as he tried to sleep her question kept his thoughts spinning. Maybe it was the alcohol maybe it wasn't. What did he want? He should be happy! Living on the Andromeda; it's more than he could have ever dreamed. His Mother would have been proud of him. Yet he felt sick every time he thought of his family. The guilt of his failures forced him to think of other things. He ran his fingers over the smooth edges of his blanket and he shifted on to his side. At least Fena hadn't thought he was some weirdo.

Maybe he was searching for something like Trance said. Whatever it was he was looking for, he ached for it. He could actually feel a need deep down in his gut. It broke in to his thoughts, distracting him from his work, from his sleep, from everything that he valued.

"Gah!" He moaned giving up. He flipped his blankets off and got to his feet.

His feet hit the cold deck and he curled his toes unconsciously. He reached back pulling his blanket off his bed and across his shoulders as he exited his quarters.

He padded down the empty corridors in his bare feet, rubbing at his eyes as he went.

Rommie's hologram popped in beside him. "Harper where are you going?"

"Machine shop 17 or am I not allowed to go there anymore either?" he snapped. It was uncalled for and he knew it. He just felt so frustrated. Rommie didn't call him on it though. She simply nodded and disappeared.

The doors to machine shop 17 slid open as he arrived. He grabbed a flexi with an old journal on quantum physics and settled in to a chair in back corner of the room. He pushed a button flipping to a random page:

_Next it was observed that an interspectral pattern just like the one produced by Than Researcher 'Diffraction of a light,' appeared as two slits. This pattern will even appear if you slow down the electron source so that only one electron's worth of charge per millisecond travels through. "Classically speaking", every electron carries a three-point particle and must either travel through the first or second slit. _

His head nodded towards his chest...blurrily he kept reading.

_It was deduced that this researcher should be able to produce the same interference pattern if we ran the experiment twice as long, closing slit number one for the first half, then closing slit number two for the second half. _

This guy was an idiot. Harper already knew why it wouldn't work.

_But the same pattern does not emerge. Furthermore, if we build detectors around the slits in order to determine which path a particular electron takes, this very measurement destroys the interference pattern as well. Heisnburger theory maybe the factor here. But this is a classical explanation and something much more profound is taking place…_

Finally he brain allowed him some solace and he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Beka stared at the ceiling of her own quarters. Exhaustion from worrying played at her senses but she pushed it away. Her need to think was of greater importance than sleep. After Trance had given Harper the once-over in medical and they had sent him on his way, the purple girl had pulled her aside.

"Beka, we need to talk." Nothing good ever started with that short little sentence.

Looking grim, Trance told her Harper's hearing was not improving and that it might be connected to his lack of growth. Trance recommended a new treatment but she wasn't sure Beka or Harper would approve of it, 'Aggressive Nietzchean Blood Therapy.'

After all the problems with Harper lately this was going to go over like a lead balloon. There were side effects of course, because nothing was ever easy. He would be more tired, yet he might have trouble actually falling asleep. Never mind the fact that he didn't get enough sleep as it was. And, then there would be nausea and headaches. He was bored already and she might have to force him on to light duties during the treatments.

Trance had tried to explain it all to her but she had to admit it was all a bit over her head. Harper had had elevated levels of aflatoxin in his blood. She told the blonde that some of the effects of long-term exposure to aflatoxins in human beings were damage to body organs like the liver and suppression of the immune system, which led to other health disorders. Conditions such as Harper had survived on earth didn't help matters; the food and water that he did get had most likely been contaminated with the toxin. Kids affected by the toxin in early childhood suffered stunted growth and often failed to reach normal height, and they tended to score poorly in tests of overall intelligence even years later. However Trance believed that due to a mutation in the aflatoxins, Harper's intelligence has not been altered, but this mutation also made it harder to treat. Since Seamus had come to live on Andromeda he had had pure food and water to eat but simply improving water quality after years of poor water did nothing to affect the levels of toxin that he had already absorbed. The stunting of his growth might also be related to malnutrition, and despite their best efforts, Harper still didn't eat as well he needed to in order to off-set the years of privation.

Beka rolled on her side bunching her pillow under her head. She promised him so many times over the past few years that she would protect him. But, how could she protect him from himself? For once in her life she felt engaged in a battle she couldn't win. Caring for someone shouldn't be a battle, should it? Every relationship she ever had seemed that way; her father, her brother, Bobby…. She thought it would be different this time. It had felt different at the beginning, but now she wasn't sure.

How was she going to tell him about what Trance proposed? How would she even broach the subject? He was so pissed off at the universe already. Had she really made a difference in his life?

The unanswerable questions swirled around her brain like a solar storm on the edge of a black hole. Finally they consumed her and followed her in to her dreams.

* * *

TBC soon dudes! 


	5. Chapter 5

thanks for the reviews guys totally appreciate... the pace will pick up soon i promise!

* * *

Harper yawned as he popped open his second can of Sparky Cola of the morning. He stood over a pile of junk that once had been a panel to one of Tyr's security consoles on the Command Deck. It had met an untimely end during one of the battles with the Ogami.

He had the panel flipped on its back and was half way through soldering some of the wiring back together when he stopped to rub his eyes. His eyes felt like they were full of sand and his head pounded. And, no matter how much Sparky he drank he couldn't get the bad taste out of his mouth. He felt like crap but he would never give Beka the satisfaction of hearing him complain about his hangover.

Rommie materialized beside him. "Hey, Rom doll," he greeted, taking yet another gulp of his drink and swishing it around his mouth with a small grimace of distaste.

"How are repairs coming?" she questioned lightly but even he knew that wasn't what she was here to find out.

"Fine, fine, I only have about six billion more projects to do then I'll be done. Stupid, Ogami!"

She blatantly ignored the sarcasm. "I only see one hundred and three projects on your to do list."

Harper groaned, "I'm never going to get it all done."

"You certainly won't be able to finish anything if you keep skipping meals."

Harper cringed. "Not you too, Rommie."

"There are three uneaten meals in your quarters including this morning's breakfast. I will have the Maria bots clean up the older ones. Beka asked me to tell you to eat breakfast, then join her and Dylan in his office.

Harper groaned; a meeting with the two bosses; this wasn't going to be pretty. His stomach churned with worry. "I'm not really hungry," he mumbled. "I'll just finish this and then I'll head over."

Rommie crossed her arms behind her back. "I think eating was a mandatory part of Captain Valentine's request." She said the first part as a warship, then added as his friend, "Harper, they're both pretty angry, and worried. It's probably just best to do what she says."

Seamus sighed heavily, "Yeah, alright fine. Food, then I'll face the music, Gotcha. "

* * *

About half an hour later Seamus pressed the call chime beside Captain Hunt's door. When he stepped in to the room he paused, startled. "Hey, Everybody. What's up? Is this some sort of intervention?"

Rommie, Dylan, Beka, Tyr, Trance and Rev Bem all looked at him expectantly as he fidgeted nervously by the door. "So what's going on?"

"Mr. Harper, please have a seat." Dylan motioned with his hand to a chair in front of his desk.

Harper sat down slipping low in the chair in a vain attempt to disappear. "Look I'm really sorry about last night I mean…"

"This isn't about that" Dylan gave him a knowing glare, "however we will be discussing that later."

"Really? Harper pulled himself up straighter. "Then what's going on, and why is everyone staring at me?"

Trance stepped forward then. "Harper, we are all concerned about your health."

Beka stepped forward and sat on the arm of his chair. He was suddenly grateful for her proximity and looked towards her, instead of Trance. "What's wrong with me this time?" he asked, a hint of a whine creeping into his voice.

Beka smiled softly. "Kiddo, we have found away to make it so you're not sick all the time."

He eyes went wide, "Really, that's freaking awesome! How? I mean …" His voice died away. "What a minute, if Trance figured out away to fix my crappy immune system why does everyone look like they are suddenly on their way to a wake?"

"It is truly a blessing from the Divine," intoned Rev solemnly.

"It's a good thing!" Trance replied quickly agreeing with Rev Bem

"Yeah, yeah but no one is answering the question. You guys aren't acting all happy here. Something's up."

Dylan turned to the Andromeda's leading medical advisor. "Trance, You know how this works; why don't you explain the details?"

Trance's tail twitched back and forth sharply. "Well, you see Harper. There is this stuff called aflatoxin and you have lots and lots of it in your blood. You probably got it on earth from eating contaminated food and bad water…"

Harper felt his face grow red. He really didn't need to be reminded of the way Earth was. Sure there were good things, like his family and his house but the bad visited him more often than the good in his dreams. "Um, Trance can we skip to the chase please?"

"Oh, sure. Sorry. Anyways we need to get the aflatoxin out of your blood. We need something that's stronger, a lot stronger than the aflatoxin. So I started to think of things that were big and strong and sometimes just a little bit pushy."

Tyr growled a low warning and Trance edged a few inches closer to where Dylan was sitting just in case. "Well, I mean pushy in the nicest possible way."

Maybe he hadn't heard her right? He strained to hear her soft voice. "So what--you're going to shrink Nietzcheans? What, I don't get it!"

Beka placed her hand on his shoulder. He knew she was trying to keep him calm but this was annoying. His hearing was crap but there was absolutely no way he would hear what they weren't saying. He wished they would just spit it out.

"Harper," Beka started. "Trance thinks that injecting you with some nanobots carrying some of Tyr's genes and some anti-aflatoxin that she rigged up that it might make you stronger and healthier. You could grow taller and hear better."

Seamus unconsciously rubbed at his left ear while shaking his head. "No way! Huh-uh! No offense to the big guy but there has to be another way! If you inject me with Uber blood then there is no way I'll ever be free of them. They'll be inside me! I-I'd feel tainted."

Beka slipped from the chair to kneel before him grabbing all of his attention. He could feel the rest of the crew's eyes on them as well. "Harper, we knew you would feel this way, and I know you have issues with trust. But trust us, okay? I know we've had a rough few weeks with the Ogami and I know you're feeling cooped up. You're frustrated and pissed off but just this once, believe that we know what's best. I really think this will help. What those Drago's did to you is not your fault. This will be Tyr's blood only. And, well, like it or not he's family. You won't be tainted I promise. There will be a few side effects but Trance and I will go over those with you."

Harper looked up and met everyone's eyes one by one. No one looked away and Rommie even smiled encouragingly.

It took him a moment to decide and when he did his voice was soft and hesitant. "All, right I guess… if you guys think so. I trust you." He shrugged and tried to act like it was no big deal. But it may have been apparent to everyone in the room just how hard it was for him to say those words.

Trance clapped and cheered with glee, breaking the tension that seemed to have hung over the room. She bounded forward grabbed his wrist and pulled him to his feet. Beka had to dodge out of the way as Trance pulled him towards the door. "I'll show you everything! You don't have to worry about anything at all! It's not like you'll grow bone blades or anything… Well at least I don't think so…" As Trance prattled on he gave one last desperate look over his shoulder but was met by only grins and smirks.

* * *

tbc


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for all the reviews guys totally appreciate dudes and dudettes hehe

Thanks as always to Eljay! Beta reader supreme!

* * *

Dylan hunt stood on the command deck of the Andromeda Ascendant, his keen eyes surveying the expanse before them. "Rommie, where did you say your probe received a ping?"

"Quadrant 53-A"

Beka stood in the helm and squinted out in to space as well. "So what, we're all going blind? I don't see anything."

"I didn't say I saw anything," replied the Avatar defensively, "Only that one of my advanced probes detected something. The scan was so quick though that I was unable to collect any data."

"Hmm," Dylan rubbed his chin lost in thought for a moment. "While Tyr was down on the planet he said he heard rumours of Ogami spies using stealth ships. He said those ships might be employing a new technology involving tesseracts. Could it be something like that?"

"Possibly," Rommie agreed. "But like I said I was unable to collect enough data; it could have been something as simple as ionized space dust."

"Space dust? There's such a thing as being too sensitive! And what the hell is a tesseract?" Beka snarked as she adjust the ships trajectory.

Rommie seemed to stand up a little straighter as she went into 'Academy lecture-mode'. She was always proud to show off her extensive knowledge on any subject. "A tesseract is a complex multi-dimensional shape, sometimes described as a cube or hypercube in space and time, in which every face of the cube is actually a doorway to a cube in a parallel universe. If one was able to harness a tesseract then one could possibly travel instantaneously to any point they wanted, even through solid matter."

"Wow, that is impressive."

Rommie nodded in agreement with Beka. "Indeed, but also improbable. The Ogami are not a highly technologically advanced society. It is unlikely they would be able to develop such a device on their own."

Dylan frowned as he continued to stare out in to space for any sign of what Rommie might have detected. "Improbable but not impossible, especially if they got the tesseracts from another source. Tyr did say there were spies on almost all of the planets in the Sedley system. Including the planet Sukanen, the one you and Harper went down to yesterday. They could be supplying the Ogami."

"But why would anyone from Sedley want to help the Ogami--they are basically pirates feeding off the good fortune of others! Isn't that self-defeating?"

Dylan crossed his arms. "I plan on finding out."

* * *

Harper stood in Machine Shop 17. He fiddled with the inhaler that hung around his neck. Trance said he was suppose to take it whenever the side effects of the treatments got bad, but not more than four times a day. He made small circles unconsciously with his shoulder. It had felt stiff and achy after Trance had injected the anti-aflatoxin in to his arm. His skin felt crawly as if little Nietzchean-bots now scurried under his skin. Well, actually they were but he was almost positive that the 'feeling them' part was a figment of his imagination. He didn't want to be an Uber. Trance assured him that he wouldn't turn in to one. But even the idea of have anything Nietzchean running through he bloodstream gave him the willies. He was doing his best to put up a good front. Beka asked him to trust them and he wanted to do that more than anything. Still the thought of it left him queasy. He needed a distraction, something to get his mind off it.

He wished he could go back to the planet again, maybe check out that waitress. But there was no way Beka would let him anywhere near a planet for a long time. He reached for a circuit board and stared at it blankly unable to concentrate.

Visions of the girl with the alabaster skin and emerald eyes floated through his mind, when a thought suddenly occurred to him. He dropped the circuit board and it crashed in to the table before sliding to the floor. But he didn't notice as he was already out the door and running down the corridor.

He rounded the corner nearly smashing in to Rommie, who grabbed him by the shoulders stopped his mad dash. "Whoa, whoa, where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Rommie!" His voice squeaked excitedly. "Just the person I wanted to see!"

Rommie's eyes narrowed. "What are you up to?"

"Me, I'm up to nothing unless you considered 'up' as being in space. Then I'm definitely up, not down. I can't be down but I can send a little message of love from up above! Pleeeeease, Rommie will you help me?"

"Harper, I don't even know what your saying."

Seamus shifted back on forth on his feet practically bouncing on the spot. "Beka said I'm grounded, which I still think is stupid cause were in space. But, anyways, she didn't say I couldn't send a message to anyone on the planet did she? No, She didn't so Can I, huh? I need your security clearance. It's all on the up and up or the up and down, whatever. Rommie Pleeeeease!"

The Android reached out to cover his mouth to stop his excited babbling and pleading. "You want to send a message to that girl you told me about?"

Harper eyes widened as he nodded the best he could with Rommie's hand on his face.

"What do you want to talk to her about?" Rommie removed her hand from his face as he was starting to drool. She fastidiously wiped her hand off on the engineer's shoulder.

"Awww, Rommie, I can't tell you. It's well…" He felt his face grow flush with embarrassment.

"Ah, I see." Rommie seemed to consider his request for a nano second. "No talking about your job or any other sensitive details. And, if Beka asks, I'll tell her everything!"

Harper leapt forward wrapping his arms around the android. "Don't worry Rommie you'll always be my first love!"

"Harper…"

He didn't give her time to finish her sentence before he grabbed her wrist and started to lead her down the hall to his quarters where he had left Fena's contact information.

TBC

* * *

more soon i promise! 


	7. Chapter 7

Two in one day I know! Even I'm shocked…I doubt there will be another update till at least next Friday so hopefully this will tie you over

* * *

Harper paced back and forth and scratching his arm absently.

"Harper, if you don't make a decision soon I'm going to have to leave. I'm supposed to meet with Beka and Tyr to organize some off-world research in fifteen minutes."

Harper stopped his fervent pacing to look up at her. "I know, it just… I want to talk to her but I don't know what to say. What if she doesn't even remember me? What if what I say sounds stupid."

Rommie sighed and wrinkled her knows in frustration, a very human characteristic that he couldn't help admire. He was suddenly hit with a pain that reminded him of his lost friend Hohne. Hohne was the first one to show him how the Andromeda worked; Hohne's friendship and teaching had enabled him to now become her engineer. Hohne had said Harper was a genius and no one had ever called him that before.

Rommie must have noticed the change in him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just miss having friends that I can relate to, you know?"

Rommie reached forward resting her hand on his shoulder. "I know things are tough for you sometimes, but if you ever need someone to talk to I'm here."

He smiled weakly. "I know Rommie, thanks, I appreciate that. I really do."

"So do you want to send this message?"

"Yeah, okay I think I'm ready now." Harper sat on a stool that Rommie had found for him and he looked in to the camera she held. He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair one final time, sending his spiky hair even more askew. "Okay, hit record Rommie." He sat up a little straighter and started his message. "Erm, okay. Hi. This is Harper. I don't know if you remember me or not but we met the other night at the bar. Anyway I just thought," Harper shifted in his seat nervously. "Well I thought you might want to talk sometime or something. So if you want to contact me you can do that here. Okay thanks. Harper out." Harper looked Rommie expectantly as she stopped the camera. She had a weird grin on her face. "What? That was okay wasn't it?"

"It was smooth Harper, very smooth."

* * *

Beka was looking over some flexies Tyr had handed her. "And you think this Torquay person is reliable?"

Tyr shrugged. "I trust no one, but his story checks out. I've have cross-referenced some of the places and dates of terrorist events that he has supplied. I believe he is right, that the main faction of Ogami supporters are on the planet Sukanen."

Beka set the flexies on the conference table. "That may be true but we still don't have a clear motive."

Rommie took that moment to enter. "Sorry I'm late; I was helping Harper with a project."

Beka stared at the Android for a moment as Rommie erased the smirk from her face to composed herself to the appropriate decorum. "What…" Beka started to ask, then thought better of it. "No, never mind. The way he's been lately I don't want to know."

Rommie's grin returned. "Don't worry Beka I'm pretty sure it's harmless and besides I'm monitoring the situation."

"It's a situation?" Tyr's eyebrow's shot up and Beka's forehead creased with worry.

"Shall we focus on the problem at hand? You were wondering about motive?" Rommie seemingly ignored their concern and redirected their attention.

Tyr nodded back to business. "The one common antecedent is the need to free the trade route from pirates. Helping the Ogami would appear to be counteractive to that cause. But what if there was a faction that did not want the trade routes opened up?"

"These trade routes are essential to the Sedley System's livelihood. It is their only means of commerce and they rely on it to import and export raw materials for such items and food and medicine." Rommie replied factually as always.

Beka thought back to her days as a cargo hauler. "All commerce comes down to money. Who has it and who doesn't. It's supply and demand. If a certain type of product is rare its price goes up."

Tyr rubbed his chin in thought. "You're saying some of the companies that supply items for trade want to keep the prices high by ensuring their products are scarce and difficult to obtain? That doesn't seem logical."

A part of Rommie's consciousness flipped through her data archives. She found one article particularly interesting. "I think we're looking at this from the slightly wrong perspective. Back before the fall there was a problem called 'Price Gouging.' Basically if people think a product is hard to acquire or will be at some time completely unattainable a panic can occur, especially if it a commodity that is considered essential. People panic and buy as much as they can with little concern for the price."

It all became suddenly clear. "So we need to find out what is being exported and by whom and who's getting rich off the process." Beka met Tyr's eyes. "Then find out if this terrorist faction on Sukanen connects back to them."

"There is one more thing we need to determine; as of right now, little to no trade is taking place due to the fear of terrorism down on the planets and the Ogami's uncommon insight into trade routes and schedules. If these companies are compromising the trade routes, how are they getting their own products off world?"

Rommie nodded her head. "Is it possible they are using Tesseracts to help create private trade routes?"

"Sneaky son of a…" Beka allowed her swearing to trail off. "Wait a minute I thought we decided tesseracts were a myth?"

"Not a myth," corrected Rommie. "Only that the use of them by the Ogami is highly improbable. But research funded by a large export company could possibly employ the use of tesseracts."

Beka ran her hand over her face with frustration. "We have a lot of theories and not a lot of facts."

Tyr straightened himself up. "We should go talk to Torquay. He might be able to give us names and more facts with a littler persuasion." Tyr cracked his knuckles menacingly and Beka winced at the sound.

"Let's go," she concurred. "Because I really just don't need to hear that noise again!"

Tyr offered her a wolfish smile and followed her out of the conference room.

* * *

Harper thudded and hammered away at a thin pipe wedged into a vise clamped to the workbench. He wore thick gloves and goggles as he attempted to bend the super heated piece of metal to his will. The piping glowed orange and disembodied sparks flew up until he was finally able to shape in to a right angle. Sweet dribbled down his forehead and was only stopped by the goggles from flowing in to his eyes. His clothes were streaked with grease and burn marks but a happy grin lit up his face as he flipped up his goggles to inspect his work...

Satisfied, he set the small rod aside and picked up a smallish piece of sheet metal and was about to fire up his Nanowelder again when the lights in the machine shop started to blink off and on. "What the heck?" He spun his head around quickly looking for a source that might have caused a power flux.

Holo-Rommie appeared beside him startling him. "Gads Rommie! Give me a heart attack!"

She put her hands on her hips. "I've been calling you for ten minutes! Trance wants to see you. It's time for your check up."

The smile was instantly gone from his face. "Aww Rommie, I'm busy."

"You didn't hear me did you? Have you been taking your medicine as prescribed?"

Harper looked away, not wanting to met her face. "Yeah, sure of course I have."

"Harper," She started but he backed away from her.

"Look I got to go; Trance is looking for me."

TBC

* * *

thanks for reading!

paris


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry it's been so long RL has been down right mean!

Thanks for the reviews and big hugs for ElJay my Beta and akaJipster for getting me out of my rut!

* * *

Harper stalked towards Med Deck. The closer he got the more annoyed he got. He said he had trusted them, then why the hell couldn't any of them trust him! He wasn't five. Yet here Rommie was checking up on him every five seconds. He saw the hurt look on her face when he didn't answer her question. So he forgot to take a couple of doses. He was freaking busy! But, no one seemed to give a damn about that unless it was something that affected them personally. So if anyone should understand it should be Rommie. Everything he did affected her! 

Harper grew more and more angry and he stormed in to med bay. "Trance!" He yelled impatiently.

His friend stuck her head out from behind an overgrown ficus. "Oh, good, Rommie found you," she chirped happily. "Not that you were really lost. You know she can tell where everyone is at all times because of her sensors. I don't have sensors but I'm still good at finding things. It's like a game…"

Her happy prattling grated on his last nerve. "Trance! Gah! Will you just be quiet for a minute you're giving me a headache and …"

She cut off his rant with true show of concern that made him fell guilty. "I'm sorry; I didn't realize you had a headache… it might be a side effect. I didn't mean to make it worse."

_Yup, he felt like a jerk now._ He scrubbed a hand over his face. And truth be told he didn't know he had a headache until he had screamed at her. "Ah, Trance. I'm sorry I didn't mean to yell. It's just…"

"Shh, now don't fret. I know you didn't mean it. You're tired and you need a break. Friends forever okay?"

He nodded numbly as she led him over to a med-bed. He hopped up on it and sat quietly as she ran one of her scanners over him. He closed his eyes; he was exhausted suddenly and inexplicably. "I shouldn't have side effects," he mumbled. "I forgot to take the meds, I got busy and I forgot. I didn't mean to… it wasn't on purpose. Sometimes I just forget."

"You're busy, we all understand that Harper. You are doing a job that used to be assigned to a large team of people. We all believe in you. You shouldn't feel like you have to prove yourself all the time. The strides you've made in the last few years are astounding. We don't worry about your work; we worry about you and your health.

He closed his eyes leaning back on his hands. "I'm so tired of feeling… weak."

Trance's tail spiraled up and poked him in the ribs playfully. "You're not weak. Your immune system is. But don't worry so much, okay? Tyr's genes are going to kick it in the ass."

Harper snorted a laugh breaking the tension. "Trance, don't say 'Ass'."

"Why?" Her eyebrow raised in mock innocence.

"It just doesn't suit you?" he snorted again and a grin crept across his face.

"So, what does suit me?" she giggled.

"Well that's a tough one let me think here. I think you are a 'bum' or a 'booty' type girl."

"Really? How can you tell? I like to say 'Butt' too!"

Harper pursed his lips as in deep thought. Her playful distraction worked and his anger and tiredness were soon forgotten. "Well, you can pull off 'butt', but the others work better."

"And what kind of person are you?" But as Harper opened his mouth with a wicked grin Trance covered his mouth to stop him. "Wait, on second thought, forget I asked." Her face turned serious once again. "We really do care about you, you know."

He met her sparkling eyes. Her really could get lost in those eyes. "I know, and I'm sorry I've been such a heel."

"I told you about the side effects, and, even though you have missed two days' doses that doesn't mean you haven't started feeling them. The medicine is clearing out the aflatoxins plus trying to assimilate the Nietzchean genes. Your body is running on overdrive…even when you're sitting still. You are bound to be tired, moody…"

Harper waved his hand dismissively, "Yeah, yeah, I was there the first time remember?"

"So you remember the part about no stimulants? How many sparky colas have you had today?"

Harper straightened up and quickly stuffed his shaky hands in to his pockets. "Listen Trance, I've cut way back; you can't expect a guy to quit cold turkey!"

"Harper, really! You were under strict orders! Nothing with caffeine!"

Rommie's voice interrupted Trance's lecture. "Harper, you have an incoming message."

He perked up immediately. "Really?" He voiced squeaked excitedly. He cleared his through and attempted to sound manlier. "Is it … You Know?" Harper winked at Rommie.

Rommie looked at him puzzled. "Harper is there something wrong with your eye?"

He jumped down from the med-bed exasperated. "Ah, forget it! Just send it to my quarters I'll read it there."

* * *

Harper entered his quarters happy for the limited solace it brought. Maybe the problem wasn't too many adults on this ship … maybe there were just too many women. Always bossing, mothering; it drove him nuts. Speaking of women, there was one he was actually looking forward to hearing from. 

He plopped down on a stool in front of his workshop bench and flipped on a nearby monitor to check his message. He nearly stumbled off his stool with surprise when Fena smiled back at him.

"Hey handsome, I was just about to give up on you," she drawled leaning forward to adjust her screen and allowing Harper an eye-full of her clinging t-shirt with its plunging neckline.

Harper stuttered in surprise. "Gads hi, Fena. Sorry I thought there was just a message. I didn't realize you were live."

Fena leaned back in her own chair allowing him to see more of her surroundings. She seemed to be sitting at a desk in what looked like a small apartment. "Live and in the flesh baby!" She waved her arms in the air with a flourish.

Harper grinned to himself

She continued without pause. "I wasn't sure if you were coming but I thought I should stick it out. It's not every day a girl gets a message from a High Guard, you know." She smiled at him playfully as she wrapped her aqua blue hair around her baby finger.

Harper knew she was teasing, well at least he hoped she was and decided to play along. "Ah, well you know we High Guard are a hot commodity. I think it's the uniform." Harper indicated his greasy t-shirt.

Fena laughed. "So what do you do up in the big ship all day, besides fix it I mean?"

"Ah, well not much you know. That's about it really."

"Oh come on. You must do something for fun?"

Harper felt at a loss. _What did he do for fun?_ This wasn't a girl who would be interested in his language lessons with Rev Bem or the teleporter he was trying to build out of spare parts. "Tyr and Dylan… my… um… crewmates like to play basketball but I'm not really in to that you know. Sports, I mean."

"Oh, I can totally relate. I'm not really in to the organized thing myself. To much posturing for my liking."

Harper thought was the perfect description for it. "Man, I got to give you that one. So what do you like to do for fun? Down on the planet I mean?"

Her eyes shone excitedly. "Well at the end of the week my mates and I like to go hover-boarding out in the sand ruins. It's a thrill! There's nothing like the wind in your hair as you go spiraling off the drifts, skimming the top of some old geezer's tomb." She bounced forward excitedly in her chair. "Oh man I know! You should come with us this weekend! It's totally blasto!"

_There was no way in hell Beka would let him go. This would require some serious scheming for sure. But how could he say no? He had never really been with kids his own age. Were they like him? Would he fit in? And never mind all that; Fena asked him to. No girl had really ever given him the time of day before. So she was a bit older, so what? He had to try didn't he? What did he have to lose? Okay, well his hide if Beka found out but other than that?_ "Well if it's blasto, how could I say no?"

"Sniffy, stellar! I'll drop you a line in a day or two and let you know where to meet us okay?" Her smile nearly filled the whole screen.

"Sounds great!" he grinned back his cheeks turning red.

She leaned over the monitor once more to turn off their link. "Fena, out! Later handsome."

"Later," he agreed turning his own link off

He leaned back on his workbench stool. Harper closed his eyes trying to sear every second of that conversation in to his mind. She was drop-dead gorgeous and he was in way over his head. He linked his hands behind his head and grinned ear to ear. This was going to be sniffy, stellar for sure!

* * *

tbc 


	9. note

Just a note …

Sorry for the long delay updating my stories. A close family recently passed away. I have been writing more and will start posting again soon.

thank you for your patience  
parisindy


	10. Chapter 9

Sorry gang like I said its been a rough couple of months…. I lost my Father and well… I'm trying to get back in to the swing of things now. If you're still reading I thank you for your patience. Thanks to Eljay for the Beta…

* * *

Tyr and Beka had been planet-side for two days. They stood beside some vacant buildings on the west side of the planet's biggest city. Tyr could sense the building tension in his companion. "Will you be still!' He ordered gruffly as Beka bounced back and forth on the balls of her feet while rubbing her arms.

"Stick it! I'm cold. Stupid planets."

"Torquay should arrive soon." Tyr replied staring off in to the distance.

"You think he'll actually know anything?"

Tyr shrugged without answering.

Beka shifted again, stirring up dust in the growing wind. He could feel her eyes focus on him but for now he refused to meet them.

"Are you going to leave Andromeda?"

"What?" He was startled by her questions and scrambled to look indifferent.

"Thought so." She smiled smugly. "Some great Nietzchean manifesto I suppose, or something."

"Or, something." He offered her a small smile. The woman was not nearly as dumb as she played sometimes. "I have things I need to attend to…"

"Don't you always." This time it was Beka who turned away, gazing off in to the distance.

They stood in uncomfortable silence for a moment or two. Before Beka turned towards him heatedly. "Were you planning on telling us!"

"When my plans were in place, possibly yes." He stood still trying not to fuel the situation by adding his own emotions.

"You've become a part of people's lives, you have a place here, people care about you and depend on you! And you were just going to walk away without a word!" Beka took small rapid steps back and forth, pacing as if she were an animal trapped in a small cage.

Tyr shrugged. "What would you have me do? I can't take the boy with and I cannot stay."

"I wasn't just talking about him!" Beka crossed her arms turning her back on him. "You maybe a Nietzschean, but you're still a man. All men are idiots!"

Tyr studied her now. She couldn't have possibly thought…. No; she wasn't a Nietzschean; she couldn't understand. No matter the situation or the emotions, a relationship was impossible. "Andromeda was an ends to a mean."

She physically flinched at that. They stood silently staring at each other. The tension was thrumming between them. "You will tell Harper, and if you hurt him in anyway, I will kill you."

He met her eyes briefly before nodding curtly. "I believe you to be the only one capable of that." He then turned looking down the street. "Someone approaches."

With that Tyr was back to business as he defiantly ignored the longing that ached in his heart. He shivered slightly; Beka was right, this was a cold planet.

* * *

Harper, smiled and hummed happily as he worked. He was nearly done. It was perfect plan. He just need to calibrate a few of the circuits and…

"Whatcha making?"

Harped yelped in surprise dropping his tools and the circuit board. "Trance! Oh hi!" He quickly grabbed the small device and held it behind his back. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"I just came to give you your next dose and to see what you were doing. Thought you might have time for a game of Yesshedonno."

"Um, I'll take the shot I suppose but I'll have to pass on the game. Busy, very busy. Besides, I'm broke."

Trance's tail twitched excitedly. "Never stopped you before. So what are you busy with?"

"You wouldn't understand. It's complicated."

"Try me."

The two friends stared at each other, smiling fake smiles.

Finally Harper caved, his shoulders dropping. "What's it going to take for me to get out of this without answering your question?"

"You have to take the next three shots without complaining and make a new sun lamp for Fred by the end of next week."

"Fine," he replied starkly.

"Fine," she agreed, equally curt, before jiggling the injector in front of his face.

Harper opened his mouth, and then shut it pressing his lips together firmly. He rolled up his sleeve without further comment. He closed his eyes as Trance pressed the small circle against his arm. Both the injector and Harper hissed at the nanobots flooded his system.

"Now don't forget to take your inhaler, it has your mini doses and your rejection medicine in it," Trance chirped as she bounced out of sight. "See you tomorrow," she called over her shoulder.

Harper shook his head and got back to work. After all he had places to go, people to see, and apparently, lamps to build.

Beka, landed the Maru neatly in to the Andromeda's cargo bay despite her exhaustion. Neither she nor Tyr had spoken much since their little foray with Torquay. The tension between the two of them still ran high. The informant thing turned out to be an utter fiasco. Torquay was of little help and seemed scared of his own shadow. Someone had obviously gotten to him first and the only information he had provided had led them on a wild goose chase. They had finally given up and headed for home. All she wanted was a hot shower and a nice warm cot for the next 24 hours.

She was greeted by Harper who was sitting on a cargo box waiting for her, his legs swinging back and forth impatiently. "Hey, Boss," he chirped happily. "How did it go?"

People shouldn't be allowed to be so chipper when she felt so miserable. There should be a law. She half-heartedly reminded herself to check Rommie's archives later for just such a rule. "Shorty, I'm really not in the mood; is there something you want?"

The kid actually had the nerve to look hurt. "No, nothing; I just wanted to see you. Check in, you know?"

"Harper, I'm sorry; I am just way too tired for chit-chat. We'll talk in the morning, okay?"

"It's okay." Harper hoped off his box. "Talk to you later."

She studied him for a moment as he strolled away down the corridor before shaking her head in puzzlement. And people thought Trance was confusing; Harper was an enigma best solved after at least twelve hours sleep. She shook off her thoughts and headed her own way down the adjacent corridor towards her quarters.

Every footstep took them farther apart.

* * *

No one noticed his exit. If anyone had even cared to check they would have noticed, after hours of searching and a few-hundred physics lessons, that Harper had rigged one of the Maria-bots to transmit his life signs. He then built a wristband; the one Trance had nearly caught him with, which nullified any of Rommie's scans, making him virtually invisible. Then, last but not least, he sent Rommie in to a diagnostic that involved the opening and closing of the hanger bay doors.

All which led to the question revolving his current situation. Could engineers fly when shot out an air lock? The answer? Barely. The slipfighter he 'borrowed' proved to be a lot more difficult and touchy than the Eureka Maru. He worried that even though he had stuck a second sensor blocker on the ship if Rommie couldn't help but notice his bobbing and weaving off her port bow. Thankfully, it was only a hop skip and a jump, literally to get to Sukanen.

He wiped his brow as the planet neared without any alarms raised. Now if he could only land this puppy…

* * *

TBC … a lot sooner then the last time I promise hehe 


	11. Chapter 10

Thanks for reading and the kind words... also thanks to eljay for the beta!

* * *

The landing was tricky but not as bas as he thought it would be and he landed the fighter in one piece. Okay so there was a big scrap of paint missing of the nose section but he could fix that before it was noticed. Now he stood 20 feet from the tiny ship on the steps of some sort of ancient ruins. Sand swirled around his feet as some of the encroaching dunes threatened to take over what little of the ancient outpost was left.

Fena had sent him the co-ordinates earlier but as he squinted in to the setting sun he couldn't see any living soul around for miles. Maybe she had stood him up? Maybe this was just one big joke. 'Get the Spacer,' Divine knows he had pulled many a trick on Spacers in his day. He no sooner thought that when he heard a low rumble on the horizon that kept getting louder and louder. Suddenly, from behind the dunes roared eight hover-boarders. The circled the air in an elaborate maneuver before one settled down beside him. The others zoomed off doing risky jumps and tricks over the ancient rocks. The boarder pulled of her helmet and suddenly long blue hair was rippling in the breeze. It was Fena and her emerald eyes glittered excitedly. "Hey, Harper! You made it; I wasn't sure you would show."

"Me, either. Erm, I mean I wasn't sure you would be here."

She grinned at him goofily until Harper felt the need to fill the sudden silence. "I've never heard such load hover-boards before. All the ones I seen were really quiet." He wasn't about to mention that if they seemed loud to him, and he had crap hearing that it was probably twice as bad for anyone else within earshot.

"You've hover-boarded before?"

Harper kicked at the sand and stuffed his hands in to his pockets. "Nah, I just saw some Vids once. I don't get off the ship much."

Fena looped her arm around his waist comfortably and directed him up a couple of the crumbling stairs. "See the guy in the dark red? That's Glyso, you'd probably get along with him. He's my brother's best friend. He's like you; he likes to fix things. He souped up our boards for us, all sniffy, stellar for sure."

Harper grinned helplessly.

"What?' laughed Fena in mock distress.

"Talking to you is like trying to learn a whole new language."

"Shuddup, you." Fena shoved him away playfully. "So you want to learn?"

"Learn what? Hover-boarding, or your language?"

Fena pulled a spare board out of the pack on her back and shoved it into arms. "Both, Space boy!"

Harper just grinned back, hopelessly smitten. "Sniffy, stellar for sure!"

* * *

It had been two days since his excursion with Fena and Harper still couldn't wipe the silly grin off his face. The rest of the crew couldn't help but notice and his giddy mood was infectious. Well, okay—really it was only Trance, and she was mostly happy all the time anyways. Trance, Beka and Tyr had been extra sour and bossy lately. He supposed it was the mission that Dylan had them all working on. Still, when Harper had tried to fix the lighting in the gym, Tyr was extra snarky and had even shoved him out of the way as he left. Oh well he really was too happy to be concerned. He whistled as he strolled down the corridor towards the mess hall. He was hungry, really hungry. Maybe those stupid, dumb Uber genes were finally kicking in.

He grabbed a sandwich from the auto chef when he saw Tyr and Beka stride in to the dining area. Quickly he grabbed his sandwich and ducked in to the kitchen area. He really didn't want another pissing match with Tyr right now and Beka would just find some other mundane chore for him to do on the Maru.

It took a moment for him to realize they were shouting at each other.

Curiosity got the best of him as he strained to hear what they were saying.

"You're what?"

"Your hearing is not damaged like the boy's, you heard what I said."

Beka was fuming, "And you haven't told him yet; have you told anyone?"

Tyr snarled in return, "You should be grateful I allowed you to know."

Beka practically exploded. "You Allowed! You Allowed! Listen to me you giant Nietzchean oaf! No one allows me anything!"

"That much is obvious." Tyr smiled breaking the tension slightly.

"I have a gauss gun; don't make me use it!" Beka smiled dangerously.

Their voices got quieter then and they were harder to hear, so Harper grabbed a near by rack for leverage and he leaned his head against the wall near the open doorway.

"Tyr it's going to break his heart if you don't tell him; out of all the people he admires, you mean the most. I have no idea why, but it's the truth."

"I am a Nietzschean; he is terrified of my kind."

They must have stepped closer to each other and farther from him because he only caught part of the reply. "…yes, but not you. You're big , strong and fearless; tell me as a boy you didn't want those things."

"He is no longer a boy."

"But he's not grown up yet either. He needs you Tyr, and so do I."

There was silence then but he could tell they hadn't left, so cautiously, ever so slowly, he leaned his head around the corner. Freaking hell; they were kissing! Harpers grip slipped then and he fell in to the doorway with a crash.

* * *

Rev Bem walked on to the Command Deck to find Captain Dylan Hunt by himself. The image the forward screen showed was turned away from the planets. Instead, it displayed the expanse of space. "Contemplating the Divine's work in the Universe?"

Dylan looked slightly startled but smiled back at the Magog. "Hi, Rev. No. Sorry. I was just thinking."

Rev stepped up to stand beside the Captain. "That much is obvious. A penny for your thoughts?"

Dylan smiled, "A penny? You've been spending too much time with Harper."

"Sadly, I have been meditating and I have spoken to no one in days. Time spent with the Divine is never a waste, but yet I now feel as if I have missed something."

Dylan scrubbed a hand across his face, "You and me both, Rev. Beka is acting weird, Harper is hiding in the conduits and not talking to anyone, and Tyr is… well… Tyr. I can't help but think we are never going to find these Pirates, especially when I can't even seem to keep tabs on what is going on in my own ship."

Reverend Bohemial studied his clawed hands for a moment before answering. "Is it not possible that everyone, including you, is simply tired? With the Commonwealth now rebuilding, could you not ask for help?"

"Help?" Dylan looked at Rev like he had suddenly switched to a language other than Common."

"Yes, help. Even Heroes need a break once in a while."

Dylan looked abashed. "I guess we are tired… I never even thought… It's been so long since Andromeda had a full contingent. It would take some of the pressure off…. Rev you're right; I'll put in the call."

Rev gave a small nod. "Now, I will keep watch while you sleep. Tomorrow is another day."

Dylan smiled slyly, "You are truly the voice of wisdom Rev. What would we do without you?" Dylan clapped a hand on the Magog's on his shoulder and turned and left for his quarters.

Rev watched him go before he whispered his reply. "I'm afraid you may have to find out all too soon."

* * *

Beka hauled Harper along the corridor by the scruff of his neck. "This is totally not fair! I'm serious! Why do I have to be confined to quarters because you decided to go hot 'n heavy with Tyr in the mess hall!"

Beka shook his collar in anger as they continued towards his quarters. "I thought you were old enough, you keep saying you're an adult now, but I have yet to see it! Eavesdropping is one of the most childish things…"

"Oh, Please!" Harper was beyond pissed now and planted his feet. To both their surprise Beka couldn't move him further. "Rommie is over 600 years old and she listens in on people all the time!"

"I do not!" Rommie's voice echoed through the corridor.

"See, I told you! But that's not the issue is it?" Harper turned towards Beka. "Okay, just listen to me for a second. I did hear something, but I have no idea what you two were talking about. You've both been pissy for days and I didn't want to get involved. Because anytime I am around you I'm suddenly in trouble for something that's not my fault and I'm sick of it! I appreciate what you guys have done for me, really I do. I love Rommie, and I've learned so much being here. But I am a crew member, not just some kid doing chores and I want to start to be treated like an equal. My mother is dead and I certainly don't need another one!"

Beka looked at him in shock, her arm falling from his neck. Hurt flickered across her eyes briefly before they turned cold and she slammed her wall up. Harper could never read her when she was like this, and right now maybe he didn't want to.

They stared at each other for a moment, neither backing down.

"Tyr is leaving at the end of the week and he's not coming back. You should make sure there is a Slipfighter fuelled and ready for him." Beka turned and walked away from him leaving him alone in the suddenly expansive corridor.

* * *

Harper sat cross-legged on the floor of Fena's Apartment three days after Beka told him Tyr was leaving. He picked at a loose string on the hem of his pants, lost in thought.

"Harper…Harper?"

His head jerked off his chest, "Huh, what sorry?"

Fena plopped down on the floor in front of him mimicking his position. "I've was asking if you wanted to paint your own board or if you wanted me to do it."

"Oh, sorry." He smiled weakly at her. "You of course, art's really not my thing." The truth be told he hadn't heard her and anyway he had more important things on his mind then hover-boards.

"Hey," she took his hand in hers. "I know we haven't known each other long but you can talk to me. I have good ears."

He met her eyes then. She didn't realize what she said. Yet he believed her. He felt like he could say anything to her. She was the friend he really needed right now, a really hot, sexy friend. Gads he could just get lost in those eyes. If Beka knew he was here she would kick his ass. Yet strangely he didn't care anymore. "Ah, I don't want to be a downer, sorry." He shrugged slightly looking back towards the floor. "Sometimes you know, life just sucks. Just when you start to get comfortable things change." He could feel her eyes on him. She was focused on him alone and he took a shuddering breath. It had been so long since anyone really listened to him.

"Is something wrong with your ship? Your family?" Fena questioned innocently.

Harper barked a laugh bitterly. "My Family is dead. I just work on the Andromeda."

"But you obviously care about the ship and the people on it or you wouldn't be sitting here pouting when we could be doing something more fun." Fena spun on her butt and flopped backwards so her head was suddenly in Harper's lap. She laughed lightly as she stared up at him and he looked down at her in shock. "You're cute when you get that shocked look," Fena giggled, "You know I know things suck up there for you right now, but to me it still all seems so amazing. How can you live up there and not be happy, I mean amongst the stars. What can be more fantastic then that? What could be so bad?"

Harper let his fingers brush against her cheek lightly. "Your parents are still around right?"

Fena frowned slightly. "I suppose so; my Dad was a one night stand and my Mother… I ditched her years ago. It's just been me my brothers Fraz and Glyso for years."

"See that's weird to me, to have a family and just throw them away."

Fena reached upwards cupping her hands behind his neck. "I didn't throw them away. I just made a new one, a better one I think."

"I though I did that too, but now I'm not so sure."

Fena pulled Harper head down closer to hers till their faces were centimeters apart. "People get lost in their own stuff sometimes. They forget what's important. Give them time, you need to find your own head space to be in. That's what you got me for."

Harper smiled his lips against hers now. "My boss would hate you." The room suddenly seemed to warm and his heart was beating much to fast.

Fena grinned back coyly. "Are you telling me right now you're thinking about another woman?"

"Beka who?"

Their kiss deepened as her fingers ran through his hair, and for a while Harper forgot all about the universe outside.

* * *

Tyr stood in front of the console. "Ship, have you found him yet?"

"He's not answering to my hails, but his life signs are showing him to be on the move in the conduits. It is possible he doesn't hear me." Tyr continued to read the results of her search on the screen so Rommie dared a question. "Beka told him you were leaving; is that true? If that's the case it is more probable that that's why he's not answering; he's been upset lately. "

"With such a expansive ship and with such an a minute crew it continues to astound me the rate which gossip travels."

Rommie looked at him sternly. "You didn't answer the question."

"And I have no plans to. Tell me when the boy returns."

Rommie was thoroughly confused and warships hated being confused. "When he returns? Returns from where? Conduit 4C?"

Tyr turned and walked away but Rommie yelled after him. "You should tell Dylan if you're leaving!" She paused for a second. "Returns from where?"

Tyr waved his hand at her at continued down the corridor with out a word.

TBC

* * *

I really don't know where the Beka/Tyr thing came from that one snuck up on me... once again thanks for reading! 


	12. Chapter 11

Its not a long update …sorry about that

thank you for all the kind reviews

Thanks to Eljay for the beta…

* * *

Harper shivered and pulled his hands into his long sleeved t-shirt. He should have brought a jacket but he hadn't thought of it earlier in his mad dash to escape the Andromeda. He had gotten so used to being in space where everything was controlled; it was easy to forget that planets were different. Sometimes it was just way too easy to forget where he came from. Things were so different now. 

Fena helped though. She reminded him of who he really was and it made him ill to think what would happen once Dylan stopped the pirates. They would leave. They always left. Then what? The though of leaving Rommie was awful—he couldn't bear to imagine it. She was home now... how could he leave her? But the same went for Fena. He hadn't known her all that long, but she made him feel normal… wanted. There was no good answer. Saying good-bye sucked no matter how you looked at it.

He ducked his head down against the cool, rising breeze and silently wished he hadn't needed to hide the slipfighter so far away from where Fena lived. He rounded another corner getting closer to the edge of town. The closer he got to the desert the stronger the wind got as there weren't many buildings to block its path. He paused for a moment closing his eyes. It reminded him just a little of his house on the hill and the ocean breeze.

"Well, well what do we have here? You're out a little late boy." Harper jumped, startled. A large man stepped partially out of the shadows.

The memories of his life on Earth weren't as sharp as they used to. The fleeting years of childhood and a safe home chased away much 0f his defensiveness. But the fear, the fear he remembered. Harper's heart beat like a wild bird in a cage. The man was dangerous and he knew it instinctively. It should have been difficult to tell as the dark figure was cast half in darkness, but the bone blades reflecting in the pale moonlight was a dead give away. Dead… Harper quickly shook that from his mind as he tried not to panic. He swallowed convulsively and tried to step by the intimidating figure.

"Where you going runt? I'm talking to you."

The Nietzchean grabbed Harper's upper arm deftly stopping his escape.

Harper yelped what little bravado he has quickly fleeting. "Hey! Let go! I didn't do anything to you!"

The Nietzchean snarled his teeth gleaming like his bone blades had. "I would say you are quite mistaken about that. You are just the person I'm looking for." His voice had all the smoothness of sand paper. "I've been looking for you for a long time, Seamus Harper."

"W-What? I don't know you. Why would you be looking for me? I'm no one."

"You will be nothing after I ensure your pathetic life-force is wiped from the memory if the universe. Oh, I know you, as do all of kin. You killed my son; and twelve others, that were strong and true. In the chemical blast that resulted in one minuet Kludge's deplorable bid for freedom you killed a lineage. How dare you think your life was worth more then ours? Your blast not only ripped my son from me but the radiation that followed insured I would never sire another. Oh, I know you and now I will take your life. It will be your father now that will be in mourning."

Harper tried to shake loose from his attacker. "Did you practice that speech in the mirror? Man you really need to do your homework. My father is dead! You're too late to seek your revenge."

The Nietzchean laughed menacingly, "Are you so very sure?"

"You Ubers are always full of head games; you don't know!" Harper tried to shake loose again but the stranger's grip was too tight. If he did get away he would be hiding bruises for a week. "Let go!"

The Nietzchean twisted his wrist and with no more than a flick. Harper hit the nearby brick wall. It felt like… well like he has hit a brick wall. The sharp corners of the stones scraping his cheeks, biting into his shoulder, leaving him spitting blood and seeing stars as his knees buckled and the world turned grey. He thought he heard someone yell but not trusting his ears, he let go and went to hide himself in the darkness.

* * *

Harper dreamed. 

He saw a small house on a hill. The wind rushed over the rocks from the harbor and beat against its walls. After years of abuse the building leans to the left in a vain attempt to escape its tormentor. He could see through the walls and the salt from the nearby ocean leaves stains on the floor. Soon it just might slide down the hill to the water and float away. Sometimes it shakes, but it knows where it belongs and it holds fast to the rocks on which it's perched. Living ghosts haunt its halls but they cannot walk through the walls that have been set. Only love can do that. But love is like the wind; strong but unflinchingly intangible and completely impossible to hold on to.

A broken ceramic windmill sits on an uneven self, its broken wings spinning in the torrent. He felt like Don Quixote searching for his impossible dream, fighting his windmill, his imaginary dragon.

The walls bent and quivered around him yet they did not break. Since the house would not fall maybe he could slither down the rocks on its behalf? Out in to the ocean like rotting seaweed. He would bob and weave until he finally sunk below the waves, nothing more than another piece of pollution, strangling the beauty and choking it out.

* * *

His head throbbed but it was the jarring pain in his stomach that shook him to awareness. Before the world even came in to focus he knew something was wrong. The world spun out of control, he was moving and not of his own accord. Worse, he was upside down and his stomach could not right itself. "Sick," he moaned. "Going to be sick." 

The motion stopped suddenly as his steed stopped its forward motion, hands gently lowering him to the ground.

Harper felt the soft sand sink beneath his rump as he was sat on the ground, a warm hand on the back of his neck holding his head down between his knees.

"Deep breaths," he thought he heard, but he wasn't sure.

"Are you my Dragon?" He managed to choke, still confused as to what was going on.

"I am no Dragan, although we must we have left a slain one in our path. Haste would be in out best interest."

Harper gasped, feeling suddenly giddy with relief. "Tyr?"

"You were expecting Santa Claus?"

Harper laughed, "I thought I was dead—oh man I'm still dead! Beka's going to kill me!"

"She was right to warn you about traveling alone. You are indeed a wanted man, though your stature may force them to reassess their advertising campaign."

"Hardy, har, har." He turned his head to look back at his rescuer. "Seriously though, thanks for the save."

Tyr shrugged. "You were late and I needed to talk to you."

TBC

* * *

Thanks for reading ...more soon 


	13. Chapter 12

Thank you for Eljay for the beta, thanks to Jips for a fresh perspective, thanks to Sabith for the kick in the butt and thank to all for the reviews!…Phew! okay I'm done now…no wait ,.here's the next part! Hehe

* * *

Tyr shrugged. "You were late and I needed to talk to you." 

Harper studied the ground he sat on, playing with a few loose pebbles. "I already know what you're going to say."

Tyr lifted his head hearing a noise that Harper hadn't. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah, yeah." The engineer replied with more bravado then he felt.

Tyr helped him to his feet as the engineer faltered. Harper staggered bending forward as his stomach flip-flopped with a sudden bout of nausea. Tyr placed and kept a steadying grip on the back of his shirt to keep him upright as he gagged and retched. When he had recovered and they had started to move and Tyr didn't remove his hand Harper tried to hide his gratitude. It wasn't so bad if he kept his eyes closed. _Great now I'm blind _and_ deaf_, he stewed. He was forced to trust the pressure of Tyr's hand on his back to guide him. His head was really starting to pound and he was starting to feel weary as all the adrenaline left his body. "I'm tired," he complained absently.

"I suspect you have a concussion. There is a medical kit on the slipfighter. Stay awake, I need you aware." Tyr's voice grumbled near his ear enabling him to hear the larger man.

Harper grunted unhappily. "My head hurts too much, besides I don't sleep on my feet… well not often anyways. Thanks for the save by the way."

Tyr shifted his hand slightly and Harper opened his eyes slightly so he wouldn't trip. They were walking on sand now as they exited the city, the moonlight shining brightly, lighting their path.

"It seems to be what I do. You were told not to come down to the planet. You knew you were being hunted, but yet I understand your motives."

"What?" Harper questioned.

"Don't play games boy, you heard me."

Harper struggled slightly as the sand pulled at his tired feet. "No, I mean, you do?" he replied in surprise. His thoughts were starting to drift randomly. It was starting to be difficult staying focused. "When Beka finds out, she's going to kill me."

"Don't worry about Beka; she is chasing her own demons so covering your escapades today will not cause any difficulty. At the moment Beka and Dylan are distracted to a fault, Dylan with protecting the system and Beka by her own needs. So much so that they let their own defences slip. I must say that I do not enjoy being dragged along for the ride."

Tyr paused his monologue as he pulled Harper over a small dune. Harper had stumbled over the rise, as he found it more and more difficult to walk in a straight line.

"And is it such a surprise that I would understand your need to leave the ship?" Tyr continued switching gears abruptly. "You are growing towards adulthood. There are no potential mates on your all-mighty High Guard ship. Lusting after that android is fruitless, she will bear you nothing more than rust and nanobots, if you ever got that far."

Harper was sure there were some insults somewhere in Tyr's last comment but his rattled head wouldn't allow him to sort them out. He replied to what he could focus on. "What do you mean growing towards? I may not be tall, but I'm not a kid anymore, Tyr. Why can't anyone see that?" Harper's voice rose with his last statement. Indignant anger coloured his cheeks.

"Calm yourself—you're missing the point."

"Am I? I know you're leaving again."

Tyr didn't reply as they were finally at the slipfighter. Tyr had landed his directly across from where Harper had hidden his. Harper sighed, he'd thought it was hidden; Tyr seemed to have found it easy enough. Tyr forcefully leaned Harper against the side of the ship. He then grabbed the smaller mans chin, forcing Harper to focus on him. "I am leaving, but it has nothing to do with you. I have my own quest to fulfill."

Harper couldn't stop his indignation from boiling over, "Nothing to do with me? Thanks a lot! You haven't exactly offered to take me with you either have you? I'm not even important enough to be informed. I had to find it out from Beka! Who by the way is in love with you, you idiot." He banged his head slightly against the side of the ship, and winced. "You keep saving me, yet I still feel so lost. I used to dream of running away from Andromeda. I wanted a place of my own. But, she, you, Beka, hell, even Rev Bem, you've all gotten under my skin. I don't know when that shift happened, but Andromeda became my home"

Tyr said nothing waiting for Harper to get to the point.

"And now it reminds me of before, back on Earth." Harper blustered on, "Everyone is leaving, following his or her own thing, I feel like I'm lost in a windstorm. Everything is swirling around me and there is no place to set my feet."

Tyr stared at him in surprise. "I had no idea you were a philosopher."

Harper snorted, "Head injury."

Tyr smiled sharply, "That would explain it then." The Nietzschean shifted then and took a step back figuratively and literally. "I have not talked to you before because I struggled with what to say. I have lectured Beka on the need to let you become your own person. She wants to hold you close; she fears your mistakes with rip you from her. She does not see that she must let you go to keep you."

Harper had nothing to say to that. It was the elephant in the room that neither he nor Beka liked to acknowledge.

Tyr continued, "Yet, I too find myself struggling to say goodbye and it confirms that I must. I care for you boy, and I even care for that strong-headed infuriating pilot." Tyr paused, "This is something I once told myself I would never allow to happen."

Harper looked up in surprise. "You told yourself you weren't going to care about us? Wait a minute. Maybe it's the bump on the noggin I got, but, why? It doesn't make sense. Why would you think that way, distance yourself?" Harper was confused; his head was spinning as he pressed himself against the cool metal of the ship. He was tired of being confused.

"I have a dream," Tyr started. "And it has value, potential even. It has consumed me since my own sire's death. Do you dream Harper?"

Harper straightened up slightly at the change of topic. "Yeah, I dream. Nightmares mostly."

"Not those kind of dreams, ones for your future. What do you desire?"

Harper rubbed his hand through his hair feeling the grit that was there, reminding him of past times. "Honestly, I try not to think about the future. I mean, when I was on Earth all I wanted was to get away from the Ubers and see the stars. I wished for it constantly and I wanted it so bad, I ached," Harper smirked, but it lacked any humour. "Then I got what I wished for, and look what it's cost me. If I've learnt anything, it's that dreams are dangerous."

Tyr met his eyes, and Harper could see the sadness that lay within them. He wasn't sure which of them Tyr was sad for. "It's not the dream that is dangerous, but the lack of Hope," Tyr spoke with care. "You were not the means to the end, and your parents did not die because of you. You need to find your dream and chase it, as do I." Tyr focused on Harper confirming he had the boy's full attention. "Promise me you'll try. Try to find your place in the cosmos, your dream."

Harper swallowed roughly, his emotions getting the better of him. "I'll try."

Tyr pulled Harper close in a friendly hug. "If we set each other free, we may just gain everything."

Harper swiped at his eyes, blaming his injury for his lack of control. "I'll miss you."

"And I you. But I feel we will meet again. Your are like a burr in my hair, tenacious, and whenever I feel I have finally rid myself of you, there you are again."

"You Nietzscheans love your analogies don't you?"

Tyr barked a laugh. "I'm surprised you know what an analogy means."

"Hey, I resemble that remark!"

Tyr continued to smile. "Let's get you patched up, then we'll get back to your beloved ship. Tomorrow is another day."

* * *

TBC :-) 


	14. Chapter 13

thanks for the reviews and thanks to eljay for the beta

* * *

Harper was resting in his quarters on the Andromeda. It was well past time he got out of bed but he couldn't bring himself to flip the covers off his ratty old grey blanket. He picked at its frayed edge lazily. Rommie said she would get him a new one, but why? This one was soft, comfortable and familiar. Not many things in his life were like that so he would be damned if he was going to lose the few things he could hold on to. 

A couple of repetitive thuds could be heard out side his door. "Who is it?" he yelled not even lifting his head from the pillow.

"Open the damned door!"

Harper groaned; it was Beka. "Coming! Just a sec—I got to find some pants!" He rolled over, finally flipping the blanket off. He winced at the sudden headache that made him pause. Damn sneaky Ubers. Tyr had helped him out last night, injected some Nanobots, healing most of the bumps and bruises… then ran a cover story, with those in the 'need to know,' that Harper had fallen while fixing Rommie's scanners. The Maria bots once again covered for his actual 'disappearance' with his fake life signs device.

Harper looked around the room blearily as Beka continued to bang on his door. "I said I'm coming" he yelled as loud as he could. After a moment of searching, he grabbed a pair of nearby Cargos and black t-shirt with a grease stain on it.

He hit the remote on the side of the wall and the door flew open. Beka stood there with a grin on her face. He couldn't help but be a bit stunned by that. He hadn't seen her smile in a long time. "Um, what?"

"You heard me banging on the door?"

"Yeah, and you know I was going to get up; you didn't have to make so much noise…." Harper's brain finally caught up with the rest of him. "Wait-a-minute I _heard _you banging on the door! It was loud and annoying!"

Beka allowed herself a girlish giggle before pulling him in to a hug. "The stuff Trance is doing is starting to work!"

Harper's arms encircled her waist, still stunned by the turn of events.

Beka pulled back, quickly grabbing his wrist and pulling him towards the door. "You should go see Trance, tell her the good news, make sure it's not just a fluke or something."

"Ah, man not med deck again!" but it wasn't a heartfelt complaint, as he couldn't seem to wipe the goofy grin off his face. Thing was, he wasn't sure which he was grinning about, the fact that his hearing had improved or Beka's sudden change back to her old self.

Once on the med deck Trance used a device to peer in to each ear, humming and nodding to herself. Beka stood nearby arms crossed but bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet.

Finally the tension became too much; he couldn't take it anymore. "Enough, Trance Spill it already!"

Trance Smiled. "They are better; I'll need you to take some actual hearing tests, but the damage seems better. The scarring is reduced; I can't help but think it's resulted in improved hearing."

Beka let out a loud whoop and the engineer covered his ears. "Not so loud! Ya freaking banshee!" But he laughed right along with his two friends.

"We need to celebrate! Something good! I was going down to meet with Torquay tonight. But tomorrow, tomorrow we'll have a party _'Harper style'._"

Harper grinned and blushed at the sudden attention. "Ah we don't need a party. Other people hear and we don't throw them parties."

Trance hit him on the shoulder lightly. "Don't be a spoil sport! It'll be fun and we all could use a little fun, things have been far too serious for far too long."

Beka nodded happily. "Agreed! Steam needs to be blown."

Harper jumped down from his seat on the med bed. "And dare I ask what you think 'Harper Style' is?"

Trance wrapped her tail around his waist, directing him to some hearing equipment she stored in the back lab area. "That will be a surprise! I love surprises!"

Harper half turned towards Beka pointing his finger at her with some seriousness. "Beka, be good!"

Beka's eyes glinted in devilish way. "Aren't I always?"

Harper thought it best not to answer that as Trance led him away.

* * *

Torquay was a seedy, beady-eyed little man. Well, maybe man wasn't the appropriate word to use. He looked like a human crossed with an old English bull-dog. His jowls dripped of drool and he wheezed with every breath. He hadn't bothered to shower in months; it took too much effort and seemed redundant, as he would just have to do it again and again, so why start? He limped into the deepening shadows of a popular nightclub's alleyway. The sun was setting and many of the partygoers were just getting started. 

He was to meet her here. He didn't know her name, he didn't know her face, but he feared her. She was infamous, for her knowledge of explosives and her total lack of fear about using them. She was cold and she was calculated.

He leaned his back against the cold brick wall, fidgeting nervously. He turned with a jerk as party goers filtered past the alley entranceway, loud and drunk. His nerves were on edge, he was jumpy, and his hands were starting to shake.

When a hand fell on his shoulder from behind he had to suppress a yelp. It was like a skeletal hand from the depths of Hades and it sank cold and painfully into his collarbone. "Miss, is that you?"

Her voice hissed like a snake. "Who were you expecting, little Torquay, if not I? What do you have to report?"

He swallowed roughly not daring to turn towards her. "I-I've made contact with the Andromeda's second in command. I'm meeting with her again soon. I think she suspects. I've been leading her on all sorts of wild goose chases, I can't keep leading her on with out offering her something more substantial. She has been hinting about wormholes and Tesseracts. I think they are figuring it out. I need a distraction. I need your help. P-people say you are the best at what you do."

"I am," she hissed flicking out her forked tongue and pulling it up along his jowls.

He shivered, involuntarily, "You'll help me then?"

"I already have a plan in motion, but you'll owe me little man. Can you afford my pricessssss?"

"Can't we go with the usual rate. I mean my boss… I'm not sure he will pay more."

She dug her claws deeper in to his collarbone and he couldn't help but cry out in pain. "We all have our price to pay, and you will pay."

* * *

Harper sat in front of the monitor in his quarters. "I don't know Fena, I think it's a bad idea." 

"Aw, come on Harper. You've snuck off lots of times and no one noticed and it's going to be a great party! My Brother hasn't thrown one of these in a long time. It's going to be Sniffy, I meant it, you have to come! Oh, and I finished your board, I'm dying to show it to you! Plus you already said your Captain Beka is not going to be around."

Harper fidgeted. He was tempted, but he didn't want Tyr to have to come save him again. And Beka was throwing him a party. Things were going good he; wasn't sure he wanted to risk going planet side at the moment. Then a brilliant idea struck him! Tyr was busy packing, Trance and Rommie were busy with his surprise, which left Dylan and Rev Bem stuck on Command… "Fena, why don't you come up here?"

The girl looked absolutely stunned. "Me, up there?"

Harper grinned foolishly delighted with his idea. "Yeah everyone's going to busy and I promised you that I would show you the ship one day…"

Fena squealed with delight embracing and kissing her monitor.

Harper laughed, "Okay, okay, but you got to cool it…. I mean we got to plan this out."

Fena kept squealing with reckless abandon.

* * *

Tyr stood in the empty hanger deck taking a final look around. 

The Andromeda's holo-image popped into existence a few feet away. "That's it then? You're not going to say good-bye?"

"I have, in my own way."

Rommie stood formally with her hands clasped behind her back. "For what it's worth Tyr Anasazi, your absence will be felt deeply by all."

Tyr nodded. "I take great comfort in causing warships distress."

Rommie gave a small sad smile, recognizing Tyr's comment for the jest it was. "Be that as it may, you will be missed."

Tyr glanced around one more time before hoisting his pack on to his shoulder. "Thank you Ship. I will expect you to watch over them, on my behalf."

Then without further delay, Tyr turned and climbed aboard one of the slip fighters and, without a look back, fired up its engines and flew off into the starry fields that lay ahead.

Rommie watched him go with a heavy heart. "I always do…. Good-bye Tyr."

tbc


	15. Chapter 14

Thanks to Eljay super beat...faster then a speeding bullet

and thank you to all those who reviewed

* * *

Beka sat at the galley table in the Maru fiddling with some party favours she found on the planet. Harper would like them. She didn't know whom she was trying to distract more with this party, her or Harper. Harper's hearing has improved but not as much as they had hoped. But it seemed lately it was harder and harder to find something to celebrate. Hope was becoming more and more elusive to her. Why? What had changed? Her feelings for one arrogant, over-bearing, …Ah who was she kidding. Tyr could be gentle at times, he obviously cared for Harper, and well… he had the most delicious arms. Why couldn't he look past his all-important personal agenda? In the end what really bugged her was that he didn't care enough to be with her, and it hurt. 

But, underneath all that Nietzchean bravado he was just a man, and like all the others sooner or later they left her. She could get past this, focus on the mission, on Harper's party. She would just have to dig deeper, fake enthusiasm for a while. She was neglecting Harper and she knew it but her focus was just off. Hopefully the party would get everything back on track. Beka sighed and got back to work, she needed to get this done. She was having another useless meet up with Torquay later that night. Unfortunately, when life kicks you in the gut the world keeps spinning.

* * *

Harper ate his supper in a rush, under the watchful eye of Trance. He fidgeted in his seat and kept glancing back at the door. She had drug him out of machine shop seven about fifteen minutes ago. He had been working on the diversion for tonight when Fena came. He had gotten so engrossed that he has forgotten to eat… since well yesterday. He didn't see what the big deal was he had gone longer with out food plenty of times. Trance however thought it was a big deal and now he was going to be late. He fidgeted again as he stuffed some sort of boiled ground root in to his mouth. 

"Harper chew or you're going to choke!" Trance abolished, "Your projects aren't going away."

Harper thought of the life signs projector he rigged to the Maria-bot. That particular Maria-bot had been awfully finicky lately and there was a good chance she could wander away since Trance didn't even give him time to turn her off before they left. Good thing he hadn't turned the projector on yet. "Actually Trance they might. Do I have to keep eating this?" He knew it sounded like a whiney two year old but the selective 'caring time' his friends were exhibiting lately was annoying and uncannily inconvenient. When he wanted attention they weren't around. When he wanted them to bugger off they were totally in his face.

"Harper you hardly touched your Bolian root. At least try and eat some of the baked Kaviak." Trance looked at him sternly.

Harper wrinkled in disgust. "I want French Fries."

"Harper you know very well potatoes are extremely rare. You have to learn to eat what's on your plate. Besides these have the vitamins and protein your body craves. "

"I got to disagree with you there, this body is craving something but it's most certainly not that!" Harper winked at her slightly, "I can tell you what I really want!"

Trance's tailed flicked impatiently she was getting annoyed. "Harper!"

Damn, he didn't have time for this he had a ton of stuff to do. "Oh come on Trance, who died and left you in charge anyways!"

Trance's face flickered with hurt. "I'm the chief medical officer, I'm responsible for you're well being, and I'm your friend."

"I know lots about my friends Trance. I know Beka's nickname, I know Rommie spies on Dylan in the shower…" Harper shuddered, "Though I have no idea why. I know these things, but what do I know about you Trance, huh? How old are you? What Planet do you come from? How come you have a tail? Are you a doctor? Where did you go to school?" Harper stood up angrily knocking his chair back. "Well? I'm waiting?"

Tears sprung to Trance's eyes, spilling over like a great waterfall. "I was just worried about you. I just … I just… You're mean, Seamus Harper!" With that she dashed from the room.

Harper picked up his chair and sat in it heavily, rubbing his hands over his face wearily. Why did things always seem to turn out wrong lately? He didn't mean to yell at Trance, but why couldn't she just leave him alone. He had a mother; she was dead, at least he was pretty sure she was. But either way he certainly didn't need a purple girl assuming the roll. People he cared about left him, it was just a fact and he was tired of screwing around. Beka, though she seemed happy and excited about the party, was faking it. He knew she loved Tyr and that the party was a distraction. She didn't put up a very good front, he could always read her. He was the distraction, to get her over yet another guy dumping her on the side of the space dock. He had played this role too many times not to know what it was.

Trance only worried about him due to some misguided sense of duty, she never played cards with him anymore, or watched the stars as they giggled at dirty jokes. They were already leaving him behind; he was only a formality now. Soon he would be alone again, and the thought terrified him. He had been clinging to Fena as of late; she was the only thing that seemed solid. He would have to decide between her and the ship once this ill begotten mission was over. What was he going to do? He moaned aloud with his worries but unfortunately, when life kicks you in the gut the world keeps spinning.

* * *

The night wind chilled her as she wrapped her arms around herself. Beka swore under her breath, where was that planet rat anyways? She let one hand drop down to the force lance at her hip. He better not be screwing with her; Beka was in no mood to be double-crossed. Gads she hated this damn planet and she was pretty sure Sukanen hated her right back.

* * *

Harper manoeuvred the slipfighter towards the planet to pick up Fena, his flying skills seemed to have improved a bit. That was something anyways. The small ship gave a shudder… oops he forgot to release the aft manifold clusters. He quickly adjusted for it as he entered the upper atmosphere. 

He zoomed through the clouds dropping himself near the ruins where they had their first date. Fena stood there, a vision herself. She had dressed for the occasion. He was starting to realize what this really meant to her. He briefly thought back to his first off world experience, He nearly lost his lunch and the Maru's command deck. But, the memory still brought goosebumps. The stars were special; Fena deserved the stars and so much more. _Why hadn't he taken her earlier?_ He opened the hatch and stepped towards her. She didn't wait for him though, leaping in to his arms. He inhaled the sent of her hair, as she thrust her lips towards his. He laughed, his lips never leaving hers. "We have to go if we are going to."

"You don't know how excited I am!" she nearly squealed as she released him, "I couldn't even sleep last night."

"Well, I'm sure we can get you to bed tonight." He leered playfully.

She hit him on the shoulder, in mock anger. "Quiet you! Are you sure this thing is safe." Fena gestured towards the slipfighter nervously.

"Perfectly, well as long as you know what you're doing. I just happen to be an expert."

Fena smiled, "Well its good to have an such a modest guy like you around."

Harper held out his arm to her. "Your chariot awaits my lady."

Fena giggled, taking his arm as they walked up the short ramp.

* * *

A noise echoed through the empty street, bouncing and echoing off the quiet buildings. Beka spun pulling out her weapon and aiming it in to the darkness. "Who's there?" 

Nothing, no reply. The street was quiet holding on to its secrets. Beka squinted in to the darkness and the tiny pools of light that collected here and there.

Then, another sound; a tiny clatter, a pebble on pavement. Beka spun again. "Alright, enough with the games! Show yourself! I'm really not in the mood and you don't want to piss me off anymore."

Something solid and cold touched her back causing her to freeze in place. A voice hissed from over her shoulder, "I never play gamessss." A sharp quick pain flared from her lower back outwards. She tried to scream but the sound caught in her throat and she fell, becoming one with the darkness.

* * *

Harper held his hand over Fena's eyes. 

"Let me see. Let me see!" She giggled excitedly.

Harper had shown Fena around most of the andromeda but he was saving this last bit, it was one of his more favourite spots on the ship and one of its most spectacular as well. He removed his hand slowly but when he did Fena gasped aloud, tears sprung to her eyes.

"Harper…" For once she was speechless and Harper laughed nervously.

"I like it here." He added lamely not sure what to say.

She swiped at her eyes. "I don't blame you, I can't say I have ever seen anything so spectacular before."

Harper pulled her on to the near-by bench and she lay back in his arms and they both gazed out in to the night stars. "You don't feel bad we missed the party?"

Her hair brushed against his cheek as she shook her head. "No, this is definitely better, and way more cozy." She laid her hand on his leg as she cuddled in closer. "I can't believe you live here. And there are only seven of you on this big giant ship?"

"Five really, I mean Tyr is gone and I'm not sure if you should count Rommie, I mean cause she is the ship. But we're supposed to get more people coming soon. Though I think I like it now, I like the quiet. But sometimes I also hate it." He shrugged. "I don't know."

Fena turned towards him. "You seem sad. Are you sorry I came?"

"Oh, hell no. I'm sorry, I just got a lot going on in my head at the moment. But I'm never sorry for a second. Fena I swear you are the only sane thing I got right now."

Fena laughed, "Then we're both in trouble."

He leaned forward kissing her ear, "More than you know."

She stopped him, turning in his arms with a hand on his chest. "Let's go back to your room, we can have our own party."

Harper grinned despite himself. "Quarters; on a ship they are called quarters."

Fena rolled her eyes, "Whatever; let's go."

They strolled down the hallways hand in hand and Harper felt like they were the only two people in the whole universe, but he knew better and his paranoia required a double check. The maria-bots had done a good job keeping the others from knowing where he was, keeping his life signs on the move while masking his and Fena's. But he stole a quick glance at the mini flexi in his pockets to make sure everything was still on the up and up.

Fena snatched it from his fingers, studying it for a moment. "You're worried the others will know that I'm here?"

Harper shrugged, "I worry about a lot of things."

"Why are you worried they will see me, don't they like me?"

Harper sighed, "Other than Tyr they don't know you exist."

"Are you ashamed of me?"

The questioned stopped him in his tracks, he turned towards her quickly placing his hands on her shoulders making sure she met his eyes. "Never, understand never!"

"Then why?"

He fumbled a bit searching for the right words. "My life is… complicated."

"Is it because Tyr left?"

"Partly, but mostly it's because of Beka."

They started to walk again. "I'm not sure I'll like her," Fena started. "You always seem worried about her and she seems awfully bossy. I would never let my family get away with that, they know better."

"Ah, she's really not that bad. She saved me from earth, sort of." He smiled then, "Well, she nearly crashed in to my house, but she would do anything for me. But, she worries about me…"

"And you worry about her." Fena finished for him.

"We're well matched I think." Harper smiled sadly, sliding his hand over the lock as they came to his quarters.

"You worry too much, I think. You need something to relax."

"I can think of something," he whispered as he leaned forward to nuzzle her neck.

She slapped a hand on his chest playfully, "You're such a boy! No, this." She reached in to her pants pocket and pulled out a small bag."

"What is it?" Seamus squinted trying to see the contents. "It looks like chocolate?"

"What's chocolate?" replied Fena intrigued.

"A type of candy, and you didn't answer my question."

"Something to help you relax, I got it for the party before I found out we were coming here."

Harper's eyes widened with surprise. "Some kind of drug?"

"Aw, love I forget how sheltered you are sometimes."

The young engineer prickled at that a bit. "Hey, at least I know what chocolate is." He tried to grab the bar out of her hand but she danced away.

"Uh-uh, nope. Not till you're nice to me." She laughed

He tried to grab for it again, but she tucked it down her shirt.

He raised an eyebrow at that, "So what does it do?"

"Its just a bit of fun, nothing serious. It helps you relax, your muscles feel loose, sort of like a Triactian metalpus. All the sounds around you sound like music, all the colours more vibrant."

Harper was still suspicious. Beka was a freak about drugs, she had a problem once and pretty much drilled it in to his brain that this stuff was bad. It wasn't flash though, Fena didn't have a problem, and he would have known if she did. "You've done it before then?"

"Yeah," Fena shrugged like it was no big deal. "At parties and stuff. It just for fun, not addictive or anything… But if you're not in to it that's sniffy, we don't have to. It's not supposed to make you stress more. I thought… it might be fun up in the stars and all so I brought it… I didn't mean to …"

Harper took her hand then. "No, it's sniffy stellar… I just never…" He gave her a wicked smile. "I'm a party virgin."

Fena laughed as she pulled him forward. "Well we can fix that."

Harper decided it was a good time for him to find out where she hid that candy.

TBC

Muhahahaha


	16. Chapter 15

Thanks for the reviews guys, thanks to Eljay for the beta…

Now lets get things going shall we?

* * *

Rev sat on the floor leaning against the pilot's chair reading a book. He loved the night shift. The boundless vastness of space, the enclosed quiet and comforts of the command deck. Rev Bem enjoyed the stillness, the serenity it was a calming balm to his tortured inner beast. Taming the beast was something he struggled with most of his life so the rare moments he was able to enjoy simply being 'in the now' was certainly Divine sent.

"Rev?" Rommie popped on to the forward screen.

Rev wasn't startled by her sudden appearance he didn't even look up from his book. "Yes Andromeda how might I help you?"

"Harper isn't answering his hails again, Dylan's asleep, and I wasn't sure if I should wake him or not. Beka's late reporting in and I'm getting worried."

Rev straightened his aging body from its seated position, his moment of calm flittering away like the rare and precious thing it was. "How long is she over due?"

"Four hours," Andromeda replied directly.

Rev frowned. "Best wake Dylan, I'll track down our wayward engineer."

* * *

Harper woke slowly. He felt amazing. Warm, comfortable. The world shifted around him in a magical array of lights and music. He lifted his heavy head to poke at goddess that lay naked beside him. They were both wrapped in the warm blankets from his bunk. The itchy blankets that now seemed to tickle his skin. They both must have fallen asleep after their exertion. "Fesha?" Erm, that wasn't right, was it? He tried again. "Fena?"

"Mmm." She mumbled dreamily. "Say my name again, it sounds so cool when you say it."

"Fena, Feeeennnaa." He let the word roll around on his tongue. "I think I'm stoned."

She burst in to giggles at his abstract comment and he couldn't stop himself from joining in. Her laughter sounded like bubbles floating on a stream. At least he thought that's what it sounded like. There giggles raged on leaving them both gasping for breath.

"I should go home soon." Fena commented once they both had recovered slightly.

Harper shifted rolling to his side so he could gaze in to her eyes. "But you just got here."

She shifted meeting his mournful gaze with a smile. "Time gets screwed up on this stuff." She tapped her finger on the middle of his forehead to make her point. "Its later then you think."

Distracted by her movement and the sound of her voice he had missed what she said. "What?"

Fena started to giggle again, "You're hopeless. Can you get me home?"

They were both startled by the sudden pounding oh the door to his crew quarters. The drugs morphed the noise into the sound of a base drum, it sounded so organic and natural. He half dreamed there was some sort of aboriginal tribe outside his door. As the noise continued, Harper sat up staring at the door before he realized the noise required some sort of action from him. "Hello?" he called.

Fena scrunched her face in to the blankets attempting vainly once again to suppress her giggles.

"Master Harper," Rev's voice called. "You are needed on Command Deck immediately. Can you open the hatch? Yelling through it is quite disconcerting."

Seamus fumbled for a reply, "Erm, uh… I just got out of the shower Rev. I'll meet you on deck in five okay?"

"Make sure you hurry!" Rev's voice called before he disappearing down the corridor.

Harper sunk he his head into his hands. "Oh, no! We are so screwed."

"What do you mean we?" laughed Fena. She waved her hand in front of his face like a magician performing a trick. "Remember super-brain I'm not here."

Harper struggled to his feet, tipping back on to the bed twice before managing the feat of remaining upright. He pulled on a pair of pants and nearly stumbled again but Fena saved him with a well-placed steadying hand. She anchored him with a hand on his waistband as he struggled in to his shirt. "Can you wait a bit, I'll try and brush them off, get back as fast as I can?"

Fena shrugged then looked at him with lustful eyes. "I'll be waiting."

Harper ran his hand through his sweaty hair causing it to stick out even more wildly. He wanted to stay with her, gads he wanted to.

"The faster you go, the faster you can get back."

"Yeah, yeah." Harper broke his gaze from her shimmering body and turned towards the door. "I'll be right back, and I mean that!"

* * *

Harper staggered on to the command deck to the expectant eyes of Rommie, Dylan and Rev. "About time Mister Harper," snapped Dylan.

Rommie looked at him with a critical eye. "Are you ill, Harper? I detect and elevated heart rate and body temperature, but it's hard to capture the reading. I think my sensors are in need of repair. I'm still reading you as being in the conduit on level 19 A."

Harper swore under his breath. He had forgotten to turn off his distraction.

"Problem Rommie?" Dylan turned to her immediately concerned, not giving Harper a chance to reply--something the engineer was utterly grateful for.

"A minor malfunction I'm sure can be repaired."

Rev interrupted then, "Can it wait? I believe the other situation warrants our attention."

"Situation?" Harper finally piped up. "Where's Beka." All of a sudden the room seemed to warm and he felt his cheeks flush. He couldn't stop himself from swaying slightly to the beeping of a nearby monitor.

The Command deck doors opened then as Trance bounded in to the area. "I know where she is but we have to hurry! Its bad."

Harper was obviously missing something, and moving at a slightly slower speed then the others. "Found who? What's going on?"

Trance stilled her nervous energy as she stepped towards him to grip his elbow. "Harper? Are you okay? You don't look good."

He shook himself free. "I'm fine. Is Beka missing?"

Trance gave a quick nod. "Well not really I know where she is but we have to hurry. She is in a tricky spot. She went planet side to see that person, Torquay."

Harper felt a little sick then realizing this situation could be very serious indeed.

Dylan stepped towards the con to direct Andromeda towards the planet but Harper called out to him. "Just a sec boss, I have an idea."

Dylan paused a look of both surprise and interest quickly filtering across his face. Harper swallowed roughly. Maybe the drug were making him braver then he should be. "W-we don't the residents to think we are interfering with stuff down on the planet too much. I mean we are supposed to be discreet." Harper swallowed again as he stumbled over his words. "You should let me and Trance take the Maru and see if we can't hunt her down."

Dylan was obviously uneasy with the idea. "I don't think I'm comfortable with that Mr. Harper. At this point she could be in serious trouble and I don't like the idea of you two down there by yourselves. The last time you went down there you ran off. Besides you're looking a little pale, even for you. Have you been taking your medicine?"

Harper snorted in disgust and frustration. _Why did no one on this ship trust him?_ "Look I'm not a kid; I can take care of myself; _I'm fine_!"

Dylan stepped forward placing a hand on his shoulder. "We're all very concerned about the way you've been acting these last few weeks, Mister Harper. Beka wants to chalk it up to growing pains, but I think it something more. Maybe the new inhaler Trance has you on is clouding some of your judgments. Either way we haven't forgotten you, but right now, right this minute, we need to focus on Beka. She may need our help. And the best thing you could do right now to help is to fix Rommie's sensors. You may be right about being discreet though. Trance, Rev and I will take the Maru and go down to the planet and get Beka, okay?"

Harper stared at the floor in near panic. _How was he going to get Fena back to the planet? What if they couldn't find Beka? Did Dylan know he was on the candy stuff? Oh gads could they hear his heart racing?_

Dylan placed his other hand under the engineer's chin forcing Harper to meet his eyes. "We will bring her back."

"I know." His voiced croaked. He wanted to say more but it was probably safer not to at the moment.

Dylan straightened then returning to full Captain mode. "Rommie stay on Command and monitor us, Rev Trance your with me." Dylan turned and strode off without even a look back.

Harper stood in silence for a moment watching them go. After a moment he turned to tell Rommie he was going back to his quarters but flinched when he saw her standing very close to him. The look on her face was less then happy. "Erm, Hi Rommie."

"What are you up to?"

"What? Who, me?" His voice squeaked.

She poked him in the chest hard and he stumbled back slightly, off balanced. "Yes you! I told you more then once not to screw with my sensors. This is not a malfunction."

"Rommie, Rommie…" he started but she didn't let him finish.

"Don't 'Rommie' me. If this happens again Seamus Harper, I will reintroduce you to the Brig! Now FIX ME!"

Harper turned and dashed for the corridor as fast as his shaky legs would take him. There was nothing scarier then a pissed off Android. He was so screwed on so many levels.

* * *

Harper staggered in to his quarters just to see Fena sitting on the edge of his bed pulling on one of his old t-shirts. Now that most of the adrenaline was leaving his system the drug was starting to kick in full force again. He flopped heavily on to the bed beside her. "Oh gads I feel weird. People aren't meant to function this way."

Fena leaned forward kissing him lightly on the forehead. "You're suppose to be relaxing when you're on this stuff, not worrying about other people. That was the whole point."

Harper took a deep breath, and blew it out hard, the noise once again causing him to hear a magical sound effect. "This is why I always come to see you."

"I really do need to get home now. My brother will be wondering where I went. I'm not worried about it, just I told him I would do something for him you know."

Harper rubbed a hand across his face. "There is no way I can sneak off at the moment. If I don't start dissembling my sensor blockers soon Rommie is going to freak. We need an escape plan… escape….Oh, waitaminute!" He spewed out all in one breath then slapped his hand on his forehead, "I'm so stupid! We could use an escape pod!"

Fena look concerned. "Isn't that dangerous and won't the others notice."

Harper sat up quickly getting a immediate head rush. "Whoa, that was fun. Erm, no it's perfectly safe. I can program where we want it to land and the Maru can go pick it up later or whatever. Rommie is so pissed and everyone thinks I'm sick or something so I'll just make up an excuse. That I accidentally misfired the pod or something."

"You are a genius, but will they buy it?"

Harper gave her a wicked smile then. "Trust in the Harper, the Harper is good."

She lay down beside him to snuggle in close. "Oh, I know."

* * *

Harper sat on the floor surrounded by tools. He had removed the devices from the Mariabots; now he just need to remove a few chips from the interface console and reboot a bit of data and Rommie would be back to normal.

He paused looking at the tools… the candy drug was finally starting to wear off a bit. He was shocked to find out he took it over 7 hours ago. At least he got Fena off in the escape pod easily enough, and Rommie believed his 'accident' excuse for the most part. He knew she could tell when he was lying, but so far he didn't think she had figured it out. But she was definitely keeping a closer eye on him now. Things would be more complicated in the future.

"Harper, focus."

"Huh what?" He fumbled the nano pulser in his hand as Rommie appeared on a nearby monitor.

"Are you sure you're okay; you've been acting 'odd' even for you. And I detect elevated…"

"Rommie, I'm fine." He cut her off, "It's just the Tyr whamo juice Trance is giving me. I'm not sleeping great, okay."

Rommie's face softened slightly, but she made a noise indicating her disbelief. "Anyway, I came to tell you they found Beka at a local sanatorium; the Maru is on its way back."

"Sanatorium? She went insane? Is she okay?"

"No, Harper, it's like a hospital. She is unconscious and Trance says Beka seems 'drained'. Whatever that means, but she believes she will recover in time. Don't worry we'll take care of her."

Harper fidgeted with his tools, sliding them back and forth across the corridor floor. "Are you sure she'll be okay, I mean if something happened to her …"

Rommie smiled kindly. "They are arriving now, the Maru will be landing in the hanger bay in just a few minutes. Why not meet them there? Beka would like that, especially if she has awakened."

"Maybe I will." He struggled to his feet clumsily as he stepped over his now-abandoned tools. And, he hurried down the hall, unaware that the ship was monitoring him worriedly, despite her now erratic sensors.

* * *

Harper stood in the doorway of Hanger deck 11 playing with the Velcro on his pants pockets as he waited. The drugs were still in his system but he felt much more clear-headed. Which for now was a relief. The drugs had been cool until the whole Beka thing. It was fun and he felt fine now. Not addicted or anything, just like Fena said. He would probably try them again sometime. It made his time with Fena even sweeter, if that was at all possible. And the music…wow that had been so weird and cool. Everything sounded like music and with his screwed up hearing it was so great just to hear beautiful things again. Often all the noises around him sounded tinny and hollow, but on that stuff … everything seemed so much clearer, magical even. He laughed at himself then. He needed a bigger vocabulary. He looked up then as the Maru broke the force field barrier and entered the hanger deck. He straightened up. It would take a few minutes for the Maru to cool down enough so they could disembark.

Holo-Rommie appeared popped in beside him. "Trance says Beka is awake now; she's weak, but you should be able to say hello."

"Thanks Rom-doll." He smiled wanly. "I'm sorry about your sensors, I'll finish fixing them as soon as Beka's settled, okay?"

Rommie gave him a curt nod. "I came to remind you to that it's time for your next dose on your inhaler."

Harper reached for the medicine that hung around his neck, fishing it from inside his shirt. He paused slightly, noticing his shirt was on inside out, but for him that wasn't so weird. He shrugged, put the inhaler to his lips and breathed in hard.

The effect was immediate and extreme. White spots danced in front of his eyes and the hanger deck seemed to flip then right its self and flip again. He stumbled backwards, while at the same time bending over to clutch at his stomach. Rommie grabbed his shoulder but turned quickly out of the way as Harper vomited violently.

Rommie grabbed him again grabbing his face and forcing him to look at her. He hadn't had time to panic, but an overwhelming fear gripped him has he watched her lips move. Everything was silent. He couldn't hear her … he couldn't hear anything. "Rommie?" He moaned unable to hear even his own voice. Once again the nausea assaulted him, more vomit gushing out his mouth like an un-damned geyser. Tears ran down his face due to panic and sickness. It was the candy mixed with the inhaler… he never thought… he missed his last two doses… so it wasn't in his system until now… he never thought… his mind stumbled as he lost the ability to focus. The same thoughts ran through his brain over and over. Rommie tried to direct him to sit on the floor but her grip was loose and he shook her off. Beka would never forgive him for the drugs…. Beka…Beka… Harper fell back heavily against a nearby console… his hand reaching out for some sort of support. He felt components shift beneath his hand.

Then with no warning to his deaf ears an explosion blew him off his feet. He hit the deck hard. He felt his arm buckle and crack.

It hurt to breath as the fire and smoke burned his lungs. He gasped for, air his vision tunneled. His last sight before the encroaching darkness claimed him was of the Eureka Maru burning.

* * *

Tbc

(Paris hides)


	17. Chapter 16

Thanks for the reviews

* * *

The smell assaulted him first and he flinched. Then the hands, they touched him, poked and prodded. Claws gripped his arms. He twisted his head only to have a spike of pain flair across his brow, but everything was silent. Not one noise, not one word of comfort.

He tried to yell and shout. He felt his vocal cords vibrate in his throat but still no noise. Hands held him down as he bucked and screamed. A plastic mask was held over his face as he struggled. He threw his eyes open in a panic. His visions struggled to focus; his first sight was that of a Magog. He screamed again and tried to throw himself sideways, but was stopped as the moment of his right arm sent agony coursing through his body. The pain was so harsh the oxygen evaporated in his lungs and he spit bile over the side of the bed he was lying on.

_Magog, Magog…. _The word ripped through his mind_, Rev… Safe. _A purple hand gripped his shoulders guiding him back to lay flat on the medical bed. He looked up… Trance... she was here. He couldn't remember why that was wrong. Something wasn't right… why was he here? Purple blood dripped on his arm. He watched it fall from a cut on her face. It fascinated him, and he couldn't look away, time seemed to slow. Pearled drops splashed on his skin, spreading like a tiny ocean pooling in amongst his arm hair. Trance wiped at it quickly but absently. Then the memories rushed back like a tidal wave. Trance was hurt… the Maru burning… Beka…

He felt the cold of an injector at the side of his neck and the world swirled away silently.

* * *

Dylan stood on the command deck beside Rommie who watched him with a frown. The Captain drew hand over his long face as if trying to erase the exhaustion that lay there, knowing the android was watching his every move.

"Dylan you need to rest."

Dylan sighed, there was nothing more he wanted to do, go to sleep and forget this awful day ever happened. _The hanger bay is all but gone; the Maru may very likely be past repairing. My entire crew injured, one at death's door, another with an unknown drug flooding his system, even my own body is riddled with bruises, cuts, and burns—Rommie sealed them, but she still would rather have me on Med Deck too. _

He slammed his hand angrily against the near-by control station. He hit it so hard even the android jumped in surprise.

_And Dammit, we're no closer to getting ride of the pirates then they were when they got here. It has been a very, very bad day._

Rommie place a hand on his arm. "Captain, Trance has just reported in. She has treated Harper. He broke his arm in four places, and it required a bit of surgery. He will have to wear a medical cast for about a week or two as it heals. He had second degree burns to his hands and face; those have been corrected." Rommie paused to look at her captain, he waved his hand indicating she should continue. Bad news or not, he needed to know what was going on with his crew. "Seamus is recovering from a bad reaction from the mix of the gene therapy drug and whatever the other chemicals were in his system. I am helping her to analyze the blood samples now. One of the big problems is hearing. He is currently not exhibiting any reaction to sound stimuli. He is severely dizzy due to the damage to his inner ear. We are confident the dizziness will pass, but right now its unclear if his hearing will ever return."

"Where is he now? Still on med deck?"

"Harper is currently resting semi-comfortably in his quarters and I am monitoring his progress. He's been given a light sedative to help keep him calm, so he can rest. Trance and Rev Bem are currently treating their own wounds."

"And Beka?" he questioned worried about the answer.

"Its not good Dylan. When we found her she was already suffering from a severe concussion. When the explosion happened, she was thrown again. Trance has tried to relieve the pressure on her brain, but that coupled with the third degree burns over most of her legs and torso…. She has developed a fever. Trance wouldn't give me the odds of her surviving the night never mind the next few days.

Dylan hung his head… the worst may not have come yet. "Do we know anymore about the source of the explosion?"

"I'm still analyzing the data, it might take some time. Tyr is sorely missed at this moment."

Dylan tried not to even think of Tyr, and another betrayal, just like Gaheris. "Thanks Rommie; keep me informed."

Rommie gave a quiet nod and quietly left the Command Deck. There was a lot of work to be done.

* * *

The room was dark except for a soft light that seemed to act as a halo around Beka's bed. Harper was hiding in the shadows but his raw emotions were like beacons filling the room with a blinding tension. Harper sat on a near-by med deck bed turning his gauss gun over and over in his left hand. He moved the weapon in a rhythm that matched the up and down motion of the ventilator that kept Beka's lungs functioning. It wasn't supposed to be like this… It wasn't supposed to be like this… She seemed so small, so fragile. It was like she was fading away right in front of him. He did this, yet he could do nothing to fix. If he hadn't taken the drugs, hadn't screwed with Rommie's sensors… hadn't hit the console in a drugged out mess…He could fix anything, why couldn't he fix this? It wasn't fair. He had no control, he couldn't stop the Ogami from attacking, he couldn't have a normal relationship with Fena, and he couldn't keep Beka from dying. Even if she did live he would never hear her voice again. No laughing, no singing, not even any yelling when she was mad at him.

The universe changed and shifted, people did things and he couldn't stop them from doing it. Yet, everything affected him.

_Shouldn't he be allowed to fix his mistakes? _

The Universe was an unforgiving place; what he had always believed was the truth. He wanted to reach out his arms and wrap them around Beka. Hold her close and tell her everything would be okay, that he was sorry, just like she had a million times for him. He closed his eyes and tried to will reality away but it simply would not go. He had never felt so small and insignificant in his whole life.

Why did bad things just keep happening one after another? Where were all the good things? There had to be some somewhere, didn't there? Maybe there did. But they weren't a part of his life and frankly it just hurt too much. Denial wouldn't save him this time.

He couldn't fix this.

He couldn't fix this.

He couldn't fix this.

He flipped the gun over in his hand once more. She had given this to him to fight the Magog. Maybe it could help him again? Maybe if he pulled the trigger he could see his mom again, his dad… maybe it wouldn't hurt anymore. Maybe they would hate him too… what then?

It didn't matter anymore. He lifted the gun awkwardly with his left hand, trembling slightly. He looked at Beka's bruised face one last time and started to pull the trigger.

Trance, had been down to fetch some lunch for Harper, he had woken about an hour ago and she sent him a text message to meet her. She needed to make sure he ate, and she wanted to check on him, he seemed so distraught. She hummed lightly as she walked back towards Med Deck, taking her time stepping over some debris. He had mentioned he was going to see Beka, which was good; he need to face up to the reality of her situation, as horrible as it was. She had been so worried about him. She knew he was still feeling bad, but maybe some French fries would cheer him up a bit, though she doubted he would equate the emotion to the food. But Trance always felt it was just a little harder to be sad when you had a full stomach and a friend that listened to you. She would set up the food for a bit of a picnic. Get him talking about what happened… maybe this would be a good excuse to break the rice. Or was it ice? She always got that mixed up. Oh well, it didn't matter just right then. She turned the corner and entered the med deck. It was dark, a dark that hit her like a wave, followed immediately by an intense feeling of dread. Something was definitely wrong.

"Rommie, Light up 50 please." The room illumination grew but dark shadows still filled in the corners.

Trance gasped at what she saw. "Harper! No!" She leapt forward grabbing at the engineer's hand when he didn't hear her. Trance pulled the gun away from his temple. It fired, missing them both by centimeters. Trance yelped with surprise but didn't let go of his wrist. They struggled; his grip was just as determined as hers. "Rommie, get Dylan and Rev quickly! Harper, it's okay just let go." She shouted for help. Help Harper couldn't hear was coming.

"No, I can't; I need it." Harper gritted through his teeth, though his voice was too loud as he couldn't judge the volume.

The gun discharged a second time. Both combatants jumped with surprise as dust from the ceiling rained down on their heads. Using the distraction Trance was finally able to knock the gun from his hand and it fell with a dull thud on to the bed behind them.

He grabbed desperately tried to scrambled forward to get the weapon but Trance stopped him by pulling him in to a tight embrace. He struggled briefly before leaning in to her shoulder defeated.

"I'm sorry," he moaned loudly. " I –I just…" He gripped her back suddenly, sobbing against her shoulder. He muttered things in to her shirt that she couldn't hear over the hammering of her own heart. That had been too close.

"Shhh, it'll be okay. You'll see." He couldn't hear her but it needed to be said and she squeezed him tighter.

It was then Dylan and Rev ran in to the med deck at full speed but slowing up quickly at the sight of the two friends. Seamus let go of her, startled by their thunderous arrival. His eyes grew wide and he backed away like a trapped animal. "I c-c-can't fix this. I can't."

Dylan held out his hands placatingly. "Harper, it's okay. Just calm down, we'll figure this out okay?"

"What? I can't hear you," Harper sobbed frantically. "I-I killed her, She's going to die and I can't fix her!"

Trance's browed furrowed with concern and she touched his arm lightly. "Harper…"

Harper was confused he jumped back as if scalded. "Don't touch me!"

Rev leapt forward in an attempt to contain the manic teenager. Rev might be strong but Harper was slipperier.

"I said get off!" Seamus made a break for the door and was soon out in the corridor.

Trance's heart ached. He just seemed so lost. Something else was going on here and she needed to get to the bottom of it. What good were probabilities if you didn't have all the pieces? "Rev, Dylan stop him please! He's going to hurt himself!"

"Rommie drop the blast shields in corridor 52c!" Dylan barked at the omnipresent avatar. "Lock out security access Seamus Zelazny Harper. Contain him until we figure out what the hell is going on."

* * *

The walls between corridor sections had slammed down effectively trapping the wayward engineer. He let his knees buckle and he slid against the bulkhead to the floor. He tried to do his best not to hyperventilate as visions of Beka's battered body played through his mind. But even his breath seemed out of his control now. He pushed himself into the back corner, where the bulkhead met the blast door. Crouched forward, he wrapped his arms around his knees and rocked gently back and forth. He had been so selfish, only thinking of himself and his needs. Never once had he considered what Beka was going through, he was aware of it but he never stopped to help her. How could he be so self-centered? Guilt washed over him like a violent wave on an sandy shore. He shivered with its strength. It was too hard, he couldn't fix this, and there was no way for him to fix Beka. He wasn't a doctor. Heck, Trance could fix anything and she was struggling with Beka. He had really screwed up this time. How could have he been so cold and uncaring. He didn't recognize the person he had become. Everything seemed to be spiralling out of control. His breath came in gasps. He wasn't crying; he was so far past crying. The room started to spin and his gasps became more urgent. He couldn't seem to catch his breath. A part of his soul pulled away from it though. Breathing wasn't important, he couldn't fix Beka and she was all that mattered. His mind pulled away from his strangled breaths and he welcomed the darkness and the relief it offered him.

Harper dreamed …. _I am the darkness at the centre of the vortex. Life swirls around me. Love, laughter…life. I support the swirl of activity around me. It affects me, but it does not involve me. If I falter …if I join the eddy, create my own colour, the balance will be destroyed and the energy will disperse. All that is good and beautiful will be lost to the vastness of space. Then there will be nothing. Not even a shadow or a smudge against the stars. I cannot falter. I am the hole at the centre of the vortex and my needs don't matter. It is all for the greater good and I am not a part of that. I am necessary but at the same time inconsequential. The best I can hope for is to watch the universe surrounding me. I pray that the kaleidoscope does not leave me for brighter horizons but even now I can feel it pulling away. Soon all will be lost and I will be alone. _

"Harper, honey can you hear me?" Voices floated down from the colours calling him tempting him. It was Rommie, she was the colour burgundy, both warm and fiery. But he could not falter he could not fail. He was the darkness at the centre of the vortex and his exclusion was absolute. It had to be. This wasn't right… he couldn't hear anymore… but why could he hear her?

* * *

Tbc 


	18. Chapter 17

Thanks to the wonderful Eljay my Beta

And thank to all of you who read and reviewed

* * *

"Harper?"

Harper lifted his arms and wrapped them around his head. He wanted oblivion, he wanted to have his brain erased and wipe the vision of the Maru burning, of Beka clinging to life on that med bed. But he couldn't even have that. Why…why? He had made so many mistakes. Why wouldn't they just let him go, if they wanted to punish him? What else could they do? Really, was there anything worse than seeing Beka like that and knowing he did it? Harper rocked back and forth on his heels, his back hitting the corridor walls. It couldn't be real, it couldn't be real… it just couldn't…his thoughts swirled around his head like a banshee in a bender.

"HARPER!" the voice shrieked.

"Go Away! I can't hear you!" He screamed as loud as he could, and he still could not hear his own voice.

The voice was gentle, and kind. Something he didn't deserve. "Harper, you can hear me, I know you can."

"NO!" His silent voice called out. He sprung up run directly at the bulkhead that blocked his escape, slamming his encased arm against it over and over again in a desperate bid to escape. "Please just let me go," he sobbed, silent to his own ears.

"Harper, I am using a special frequency. You're hearing is nearly one hundred percent damaged but I only need a fraction of a percent to find a level I could use for you to hear me."

"Why…why?" he stuttered unsure of what he meant to say and what was actually coming out his mouth.

"Why the explosion or why can't you hear? Never mind I'll answer both but you need to pay attention. Can you sit down again and focus?"

Harper slid down the bulkhead, sinking to the floor…he felt numb… dazed. He would let her talk, it didn't matter… nothing did.

"We are still researching the source of the explosion, there is some evidence that indicates a bomb was attached to the Maru's hull. There is also some evidence of a malfunction in the console near where you were standing, which caused a domino effect, shorting out some of the hanger bay's electrical system and thus causing the explosion. None of this is your fault Harper…" She paused, seemingly expecting a reaction from him. But, Harper gave her none. He didn't believe her… she was spouting convenient lies.

Rommie continued, her voice turning slightly more angered. "We found chemicals in your system; when they mixed with the inhaler medication Trance has been giving you, it caused ill effects. A number of medications are toxic to the cochlear and vestibular systems. Exposure to ototoxic medications can lead to complete hearing loss, minor hearing loss, tinnitus and dizziness, or any combination of these symptoms. The typical pattern of hearing loss due to ototoxicity is a permanent, bilateral, high frequency sensor-neural hearing loss. Adding to the fact that you had a pre-existing hearing loss, the outcome is less the favourable. Trance is doing her best to find something to help, but her time and attentions are focused on Beka at the moment, as her condition is more… serious. We will try and fix this Harper but I need to know the truth, are you taking drugs?"

Harper laughed manically. "Rommie why ask the question if you know the answer? Its all pointless, just like my life."

She did not answer then, and the silence was welcomed.

* * *

The lights on the medical deck were low, reflecting the somber mood that seemed to hang over the ship like a blanket. Trance stood silently beside Beka's bed, holding the woman's hand lightly. "Its much too quiet with out your energy here, much too quiet for us all. Your flame is not snuffed out, just lying low, glowing softly like embers. I could give you the fuel you need but this is a fight you need to fight. Grow Beka, remember your power, your passion. Then you can return to us; we need you so. Don't give up the fight."

Medical machines beeped and hissed softly, echoing in the silence.

Rev sat on a straw mat in his quarters. There was so much work to do, yet he put it all on hold to seek the Divine's guidance.

It was moments like this that challenged him. Was the Divine a vengeful god? Why did bad things happen to good people? Age-old questions that only the higher being had answers for. If he had faltered…lost his way, if this was his punishment for some deed, to watch the ones he cared about suffer, it was a severe lesson, one that he would need to meditate on for some time to come. But he was not too dense to notice that if the Divine was angry with him, he should be grateful that God took the time to notice such a lowly being's misdeeds.

Ah, the way of the Divine was a puzzle. So for now, he simply prayed. Prayed for perseverance, understanding and healing. They all needed it right now in various forms. After his prayer he reached forward to snuff a candle and watched the smoke spiral up to the rafters. Now he has work to do. He closed his prayer book gently but firmly and the sound echoed in the silence.

* * *

Rommie sifted through the rubble of what was left of her hanger bay. At the moment she was the only one who could do the job. They others were unavailable or incapable of suiting up. The deck was exposed to hard vacuum, sealed from the rest of the ship. The massive hull breaches and force field barrier would take time to repair, but that had to be done before any solid conclusion to what happened could be made.

Her thoughts couldn't help but drift back to Harper as she worked on repairs. It was a good thing she could multi-task. Harper need some time. How was she supposed to deal with the situation? Drugs? Her engineer on common everyday street drugs! It didn't take her long to deduce that that was why Harper had tampered with her sensors. What scared her was she was unsure how long it had been going on. He didn't seem addicted, as he showed no signs of withdraw, so most likely not very long. The drug he had taken didn't have addictive qualities by itself, but it was laced with a substance called Preprex. Preprex was used by many of the locals to enhance various drugs' psychotic effects. It was cheaper then naturally grown, candy like Chakken and more and more it was being mixed with the less harmful, if there was such a thing, drug. Harper probably didn't even know that the Chakken wasn't pure. Or that Preprex was highly addictive. Rommie sighed, why couldn't humans be more sensible? Why would he do this?

Rommie turned her focus back on repairs when she accidentally dropped what might have been a piece of the Maru's landing gear. The small thud it made quickly dulled by the exposure to open space, yet the noise cause an ache that she could not, analyze. What was happening to her crew? They were falling apart figuratively and literally. They needed a miracle. Rommie spared a quick glance out to the vastness of space, casting her small wish outwards so it might find a home amongst the stars. She needed to see an end to this silence that echoed through her hull, and through her very being.

* * *

Dylan gripped the rails of the safety bars on the Command Deck. He stood alone, thinking. Was the explosion deliberate or accidental? What were the repercussions either way? What of Beka? What of Harper? Were the pirates taking violent action against them now? Did Harper cause the explosion? What if he did? He had fought against the High Guard council to keep him on board before. It broke every regulation. Could he justify keeping him now? How could he not? Harper needed them even more now… especially if Beka…. No, he wouldn't let himself go there. He would stick by his crew no matter the consequences.

He needed a plan.

The silence was broken by a tiny beep as a red light flashed on the Comm. panel.

Rommie appeared on the forward screen. "Captain, incoming transmission. High Guard origin, someone by the name of Telemachus Rhade."

"Rhade?" Dylan snorted in surprise, stunned by the name. "Put him through."

"Captain Hunt, it's a pleasure to meet you at last, Sir."

Dylan studied the man that replaced Rommie on the forward screen. "Greetings yourself. And to what do I owe this pleasure? We were expecting backup, but not this soon."

The younger man looked uncomfortable. "Well, sir, I'm here on unofficial business. Might I board and be allowed to explain it to you in person?"

Dylan had to admit his interest was piqued and frankly at this point he had little to lose. "Permission granted, but I suggested you avoid Hanger deck eleven as it's under… repairs." Dylan was about to sign off when the young man, no, young Nietz**s**chean called out.

"One more thing, sir."

Dylan turned lifted his eyes. "Yes?"

"On my ship I-I have another passenger. He claims to be the father of one of your crew and requested an opportunity to meet with his son. I hope you don't mind my presumptuousness by offering him a ride. He says his name is Harper."

Dylan stared at Rhade in shock, realizing that fate really was against him this time, as his day just got much, much worse…

* * *

TBC 


	19. Chapter 18

You can thank Eljay for this one cause I was going to wait till I was done the next bit before I posted this. So you get it a bit earlier then expected.

Any medical accuracies are purely coincidental.

* * *

Rommie stood beside Harper as he sat on his cot in his quarters. He was slumped forward, his arms resting on his knees. His head was turned slightly enabling him to return Rommie's glare. The silence hung heavy in the room but the looks they were giving each other were screams of rage. Every so often Harper would flinch. Rommie was reading him the riot act, her voice lecturing him loudly in his head.

He was going to be monitored from now until 'he could be trusted not to do something stupid.' Which could mean forever with Rommie's guidelines. Plus he had to check in with Trance twice a day so she could check on his arm and his hearing. That was the hardest one to swallow. Not that any of the rules were easy to deal with. Not seeing Fena was bad, but being forced to see Beka… after everything, it made his skin crawl. He knew he did it. He knew it was his fault. Everything was. He killed people by simply existing. He broke his gaze from Rommie and without speaking a word in his own defence he submitted. He was tired of fighting. Maybe it would be okay to let someone else run his life for a while.

A light flashed on a nearby panel. Rommie frowned as she went over to it. It was an incoming message from someone. Harper looked up only slightly curious. He really was tired, drained, and found it really hard to focus. Rommie had released him from his confines in the corridor about half an hour ago. She administered some medicine that she said he had to take whether he liked it or not. It chased away the spinning vortex in his mind, but it left him feeling woozy, foggy even. What ever she gave him made him feel unsteady, as if one wrong step would bring the vortex swirling back to overtake him. His heart beat faster at the thought of it, terrified but not totally sure that if it did come back he wouldn't welcome it.

Rommie broke in on his thoughts to tell him it was Fena, and that "she heard things on the local news about an explosion on the Andromeda. I told her you were slightly injured but okay and that you would be busy for the next little while and unable to chat with her. I didn't mention your hearing. I didn't think you were ready for that yet."

Harper nodded numbly, wondering what Fena had really said and just what editorial decisions were made when relaying that message.

Rommie stepped back over to him. He could feel her eyes drilling in to the top of his head. Slowly and sluggishly he lifted his head to meet her eyes--eyes that he helped to create. Rommie's features softened slightly for the briefest moment before she reached forward taking his good hand in hers. She pulled him forward and up to his feet. He swayed slightly due the drugs, his ears causing him to be unbalanced and because of sheer exhaustion. She wrapped her arms around him holding him close.

Harpers body relaxed slightly as he allowed himself to lean on her… just a little.

* * *

Dylan paced back and forth in his office. Rhade and Mr. Harper senior sat in chairs near his desk.

"I have yet to decide if your timing is incredibly lucky or incredibly bad, Rhade."

The younger man stiffened slightly. "I'm hoping it's good, Sir. I realize I disobeyed the admiral by coming here but because of the past you and my great-great-great-great grandfather shared I felt it important to respect that bond."

Dylan rubbed a hand across his face. This kid's version of history was slightly skewed or missing a few facts. Maybe he didn't know that his great-great 'whatever' betrayed him. Then again, maybe he did know. "The resemblance between you and him is stunning." Dylan stopped pacing to study him.

The young Nietzchean smiled weakly, "So I am told."

Dylan walked over to sit on the edge of his desk facing the two men. He needed to get control of the situation and fast. The older man sat silently, distracted, as if lost in thought. The man that claimed to be Harper's father did have a faint resemblance to the younger man, the main feature being the same piercing blue eyes. He wasn't dressed in rags the way the younger Harper had been when he was found, but dressed plainly and neatly. He obviously did not share the engineer's love of brightly coloured clothing and he was considerably taller, though Trance had told them before that Seamus's lack of height was mostly due to poverty and the aflatoxins that grew in his system as a result. Hence why the Nietzchean gene and hormone therapy along with the anti-aflatoxin destroying nanobots were thought to be a viable option. At least that's way Trance had explained it…. numerous times, the whole science of it gave him a headache. "Mr. Harper, the last few months have been an incredibly hard time for Harp… I mean Seamus. I don't want to make him even more unsettled. I'm sorry to have to ask this of you but I need some sort of proof that you are his father and I need to know your intentions."

The man cleared his throat. "I don't have much; you could take some of my DNA, I suppose. I do have one other thing though…" He reached in to his pocket and pulled out an old bent photo. It showed the two Harpers sitting on the front step of the house near the ocean, both much younger. The older man in the photo had a slight smirk and Seamus sat stony faced. "He was mad at me when we got that done. He made the camera himself; he was always good at that sort of thing you know. He was mad because I gave him and his younger cousin heck for wandering off, like they always did. It was an awful time and I worried about them. Still he could do magical things, with the junk him and Fergus would find."

The story, the picture and the man's wavering voice were almost enough to convince anyone. This was a man who had been through a lot and just wanted to see his son again. "And, your intentions?" Dylan prodded.

The man laughed lightly his eyes shiny as he looked away. "Honestly I don't know, it's been so long. I'm not even sure if he knows his mother passed on, or that he will even want to see me now. But, he's all I have left. I just…" his voice died off obviously lost and confused.

Dylan nodded. "Well, I certainly can't see any reason you shouldn't see him. But maybe I should catch you up on a few recent events. Seamus is in a fragile place at the moment, I don't want this to overwhelm him."

With that Dylan told the story of the Life of Seamus Harper… he started with a small house on a hill.

* * *

Harper stood in the corridor outside of med deck. He swallowed roughly and wiped the heels of his hands across the thighs of his pants repetitively.

Rommie stood beside him, watching him, analyzing the data. She was referencing all the psychological information that she had on record. She needed to convince Harper to enter the small medical bay, but the young engineer was on the verge of a panic attack. He needed to face this as soon as possible. Putting it off would just make it worse. He needed to confront Beka's situation, especially if things turned out badly. He was in a fragile state but accepting things for what they were might help ground him in reality. Rommie put her hands on his shoulder, turning him, forcing him to focus on her. She sent the transmission through his nanobots, focusing his attention. "Its okay Harper, you're not alone. You need to face this. Beka is your friend. She needs you and Trance needs to check on you."

"I c-can't, I just…" His heart stared to pound out of control as he tried to pull back out of her grip. "Trance could come out here maybe…"

"Harper, Shh your voice is too loud."

"I'm sorry, but…" If he could have scrambled out of his shirt then to get away he would have. His breathing was now coming in gasps

Rommie needed to help him calm down or despite the anti anxiety medication Harper was going to retreat back in to his own psyche.

"It wasn't your fault…"

He looked at her laughed manically "You don't know that, not for sure."

"I know if your hand caused the explosion that it was an accident."

"And you think that makes a difference? Dead is dead, do you think intent matters? I didn't mean to kill all those people in that factory but it happened. I certainly didn't want this to happen but it did. Sometimes the world sucks simply 'cause you're in it but that's the one thing I can fix, Rom Doll."

Rommie shock him hard. "You listen to me Seamus Harper. You will not kill yourself. I won't allow it, I will not have your blood wasted in my corridors." She shook him again for emphasis. "Do you understand me!"

Harper looked at her eyes wide. "But I could fix it…"

Rommie loosened her grip slightly, placing one hand on his cheek. "Harper, as an engineer I though you would know the golden rule of warships. Don't fix what isn't broken."

"I-I feel broken."

"You're not, you're just banged up a little and I can help with that. Now come on, one step at a time. I'll stay with you. Deep breaths."

Harper took one shaky step forward.

* * *

Tbc 


	20. Chapter 19

thanks for the review… sorry for the sort bit…RL and all that …more soonish

thanks to Eljay and jips for their help ((hugs))

* * *

Harper stood silently barely three feet from the doorway. A warm human-like hand on his shoulder tried to move him forward but his feet felt sluggish like the time he got stuck in the mire near the bend in the bay by the house. His House…. Harper closed his eyes and dreamed….

The wind would rush over the rocks from the harbour and beat against its walls. After years of abuse the building leans to the left in a vain attempt to escape its tormentor, or so that's what his father always told him. Seamus reached out his hand touching the loose boards that were his solace, home safe. He could see through the walls, even though Mom tried to stuff grass and papers and what ever else she could to try and block the cold out. Salt from the nearby ocean left crusted stains on the floor that he could pick off with his fingernail. Soon it just might slide down the hill to the water and float away, at least that's what Fergus would say, but Fergus didn't know what he was talking about. Dad would never let that happen. He closed his eyes feeling the sun trying warm his face despite the grey sky. He was home and right that very minute everything was okay. Dad was out in the hills looking for something growing they could eat. Mom was humming as she sewed something at the kitchen table. Fergus and Raven placed 'skip rocks' down the shore. Right that moment everything was perfect.

He could hear someone calling his name, but he ignored it. The voice grew louder, "Go Away!" He shouted soundlessly but she wouldn't and vaguely he knew that.

He felt her grip on his arms, so reluctantly he opened his eyes. His vision swam but slowly focused on her face. Suddenly reality came crashing down as his world of safety spun away. The transition was so shocking that it felt like he had cold water thrown in his face. He gasped with the suddenness of it.

"Harper? Harper, Look at me, don't do that!" Rommie's eyes darkened with concern and her voice echoed in her head. A weird sensation as her mouth never moved.

"W-what happened? Do what?" He stuttered, confused. He had felt his vocals cords constrict and his teeth chatter, so assumed he spoke. Rommie seemed to understand him.

"Harper you have to try to stay with me okay, you can't zone out. We need you, Beka needs you, you need to stay focused on her. It's important." Rommie stood in front of him, totally focused on him, with an intensity Harper couldn't face.

He dropped his eyes to the floor, not wanting to look past her to the body of his friend, and not wanting to meet the android's eyes.

Rommie looked up suddenly, and then straightening to her full height, her lips moved and this time he couldn't hear her speaking inside his head. She was talking to someone, most likely over the COMS system and she frowned obviously not pleased.

Harper hated this; he wanted to hear. He strained to pick up the slightest noise but there was nothing and his head started to hurt with the effort. He tried to escape but Rommie kept a firm grip on the shoulder of his shirt, preventing his getaway. He stamped his foot impatiently. "What? Who is it? Who are you talking to?"

Rommie winced; his voice must have been too loud as she waved her hand down in a quieting motion.

He didn't want to be here, he didn't want to have to deal with this. He need away out but everything seemed so muddled and confused he wasn't sure what to do. He just wanted it to all go away. Doing the drugs had been wrong obviously, especially after the chaos he caused but it had been nice for a bit with Fena and him in his quarters. He wished he could go back there now, to before everything went wrong…

Rommie must have sensed his lack of focus has she shook him slightly giving him a stern look as she continued talk to who ever she was talking to. It could have been the Divine for all he knew. The quiet made it too easy to just close his eyes and fade away. Rommie shook him again, a little harder this time…and again with the look.

Harper scowled back at her.

Rommie wrapped up her conversation with a nod of acknowledgement before turning back to Harper.

"I told you not to do that. No fading out."

"I didn't mean to! This sucks; don't want to be here."

Rommie winced, too loud again he guessed but at this point he didn't care. She took his hand and placed it on the front of his throat. "Feel this when you talk, maybe it will help you learn the feeling of when you are too loud."

He jerked his hand away. "I don't want to learn! I want to scream! GAHHH!"

Rommie grabbed his jaw forcing him to cease his mini tantrum. "Dylan wants to see you. He has something really important to talk to you about. You need to stay focused, Harper. And quit acting like a child."

Harper stared back at her stunned. _It always came back to that didn't? He wasn't a member of the crew, hell even when he messed up he didn't fit in. He was just a kid… some runt Beka felt guilted in to taking care of. Now that she was dying, he was the one with a guilt complex and he didn't need to stay here to maintain that. Hell it would probably be better for all of them if he just disappeared. _ "Take me." He wasn't sure if he screamed it or yelled it, and he didn't care anymore. He was just buying time until he could figure a way out of there.

* * *

Dylan sat with the older Harper in his office. The silence was heavy and the tension thick for both men. Dylan wanted—desperately wanted—to do something right after the series of mishaps that seemed to plague them of late. He studied the man in the chair. This was not a man that had abandoned his child but a man that had his son stolen away by fate. But what now? Did that change the circumstances? Harper had a home now.

Dylan cleared his throat, "So, Mr. Harper…"

The man smiled wanly, "Call me Samuel, please."

"Samuel," Dylan nodded in confirmation. "Harper… I mean Seamus will be along in a moment. My avatar is accompanying him. She will act as interpreter due to the medical condition I explained to you earlier."

The man fiddled with the dry skin on the end of his finger, "He was hurt by the pirates… the explosion? I've heard they are a real problem. I've had to deal with their sort before in my journeys… a nasty bunch for sure."

"Yes, we've been doing our best to help correct the problem, freeing up trade routes for legitimate traders."

Samuel looked towards the door nervously. "And, my boy he helps you with this?"

The door chimed then and Dylan indicated that they should enter. Rommie entered slowly, followed by his engineer. Harper had never looked so young and, well, beaten. He had a bruise on his forehead despite the medical nanobots, his right arm was encased in a cast, and his complexion was pale. Dylan stepped forward with a soft smile in a show of comfort but before he could say anything to Rommie, Harper's eyes fell on the new person in the room.

Samuel was on his feet but both Harper's seemed frozen to the spot. Seamus' breaths came in stuttering gasps; the shock obviously too much for the over-taxed young man. Samuel broke free from his stupor stepping forward and unabashedly pulled his son towards him in an all-encompassing embrace.

There wasn't a dry eye in the room and Dylan knew he had done the right thing in allowing the moment.

* * *

Is sammuel the man we think he is?...stay tuned

tbc


	21. Chapter 20

Thanks for the reviews and thanks to eljay for the Beta

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Harper watched as Dylan indicated to Rommie that she should leave a flexi for harper to read and write on and the quietly slipped from the room. He hadn't moved an inch since _his father_ had embraced him. He wasn't sure what to think. As he entered Rommie told him to go to _his father._ His father was nowhere in the room. But the man in the room was not unfamiliar to him it was Uncle Sam. He was careful to block part of his thoughts from Rommie, but she had caught on to his confusion. She must have just chalked it up to nervousness, or something. _Hell he was confused. _Harper stood in the centre of the room shaking with shock. First his hearing, then Beka, now this… he felt dizzy.

His Uncle Sam wasn't a good man, but Mom always told him that Uncle Sam had a good heart it was just buried with clutter. Uncle Sam had come to visit them a couple of times during his youth. He could remember clearly the arguments between his parents and this man. Sam was his mother's older brother, who had long ago decided that working for the Nietzcheans was the best way off the planet. Sam ran 'business operations' for the Ubers. Though Seamus was really never sure what that meant. Sure pissed off his mom and pop off though. Mom always said, though, family was family and in the end you couldn't change it, just accept it. Seamus had trouble accepting it though. Once Uncle Sam promised Fergus a cookie if he would go and deliver a message for him. Fergus did; he also got chased by a pack of dogs, got hit on by the guy he had delivered the message to, and well he never did get a cookie. That aside, Uncle Sam was also a piece of home. A piece of what he lost… a place that seemed to only live in is dreams now, taking on a very surreal quality. But there was nothing surreal about the man in front of him. He was solid and very, very real.

Uncle Sam waved his arms animatedly as he spoke, and he stared at the older man barely blinking. Sam reached forward pulling him towards the desk where Rommie left the flexi. Typing furiously for a minute Sam entered information in to the flexi that waved it at harper.

_Thanks for playing along kiddo! I'm trying to play it low. I've been using your father's name off and on; he had a good rep…and well since he didn't need it anymore… I ran in to this High Guard guy one day in a routine check and he said my name was on a list for something. Scared the crap out me. I hate dealing with that sort, as you know. Anyways turned out they found my long-lost son. What a crock huh, big army like that and they didn't even have death records for your pa, useless twits. But I decided to come along, I got plans and we're family after all._

Harper read it twice before it really sunk in. He fingered the edge of the flexi. He felt his face screw up, but he couldn't hold back the tears and he swiped at them annoyed. He looked at Uncle Sam. "We don't know he's dead."

Uncle Sam winced, either from the words or from the volume, it was hard to tell, but he grabbed the flexi back and typed again this time it was short and succinct.

_I buried them both, behind your house… you Mom too. I thought you knew and that's why you were gone._

Harper stared at the words for more than a few minutes, until they started to blur. He felt his mouth open with a soundless sob and he leaned forward to hide his face. How many times could he lose them? When would it quit hurting?

Sam pulled him against his shoulder and rocked back and forth gently like he was a little kid. Seamus melted in to his arms wrapping his fingers into the older man's shirt. Uncle Sam was the only little bit of home he had left and his new life with Beka was all but destroyed with his latest actions. "Take me away…. Please, take me away…. " He tried to mumble in to his Uncle's shoulder not even sure if the words he spoke made sense.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Rommie watched as the Captain paced outside his briefing room. They both stood waiting for the two Harpers to finish talking.

Dylan was a patient man, or so he thought, but it certainly was growing thin. "It's been nearly an hour. What do you think they are doing?"

Rommie shrugged, "Privacy mode was engaged but they have nearly four years to catch up on."

Dylan stopped pacing and sighed running a hand through his hair. "I know I'm just…"

"Worried?" Smiled Rommie knowingly.

"Concerned." Dylan finished. "It's been a long week."

The two stood in companionable silence for a few moments more before the door of the briefing room hissed open and Sam Harper stepped out.

"He's resting," Sam whispered. "I think all this commotion wore him out so he's taking a nap on one of your benches. I hope that's okay?"

Rommie smiled kindly and stepped past, "I'll just check on him."

Sam studied the floor, and let out a small nervous laugh. "Quite the day."

Dylan let out the breath he was holding, "I can't imagine how stressful this has been for the both of you."

"Yes, you can."

"Excuse me?"

Sam met his eyes, "You care for my boy, Captain; it's obvious."

Dylan nodded, "He's become an important part of my crew; but more than that... He thought he lost you and his mother; we've done our best to help him move on, find his own way."

"Well, Dylan, and I thank you for that, and for giving him a home, and a life away from Earth… something we could have never offered him before. But Seamus has asked me to take him with me when I go. He was quite adamant about that. You've treated him well and I'll be eternally grateful for that, but at the moment he's a mess. And I can't see how leaving him here will do him a lick of good. He's been through too much; life on a starship is no place for a boy his age. He always loved space, and fixing things… and I can't repay you for giving him that opportunity. But, right now I need to fix him, us… my family. I'm sorry Captain but I need to do what's best for my boy. I'm going to find him a proper medical facility; we're going to start a new life… m-my wife would have wanted us to stick together. I thank you for your hospitality but we'll be leaving in the morning." Sam stepped past hurriedly obviously trying to control his emotions.

Dylan watched him go, stunned. _What could he do.. This was Harper's father after all._

Rommie stepped out of the room to stand beside him. "He's fine, exhausted emotionally and physically, but fine."

"Did you hear?"

Rommie nodded, swiping an errant tear from her eye. "I don't like this."

Dylan nodded, "Neither do I, Rommie, neither do I. But I don't think we have much choice. Maybe he's right, maybe it's for the best. Harper needs a proper home."

Dylan walked away slowly shoulders weighed down by the weight of the world. He thought he heard Rommie whisper but he couldn't be sure… "He already had one."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

It was late, very late… but he needed to say good-bye. Seamus crept in to the darkened med bay. He tried to be analytical about it; he needed to be able to make sense of it all. His life on Andromeda, his relationship with Beka, the explosion, his hearing, Uncle Sam…. It was all a whirlwind in his mind and if he wasn't careful he would be swept away by it again. So he did what gave him comfort… he studied, watched and learned the machines… the one that kept his best friend alive…. But that last part wasn't something he could deal with so he pushed it away.

After analyzing the functions of all the boxes attached to the pole he felt calm enough to do what he had to do. "Beka, it's me Seamus." He scratched his head with his casted arm. Did his words sound funny? Was he making sense? Was he too loud? Too quiet… could she even hear him? Once again he pushed away the thoughts, trying to empty his mind. He continued on, unsure of what else to do. "Well any ways… my Unc…erm, my father… he's here. I should be happy I guess, but… and you're probably glad to know I'll be going. I know you hate me now, I mean you got to… if I hadn't been distracted, stoned… I messed up big time. Rommie says she's still looking into what happened but I already know. I did something stupid, she just doesn't want to tell me. I think if we just analyzed the bomb spray trajectory it would be obvious what type of explosion it was. I'm sure she already thought of that too… I don't know why she is stalling…" Okay now he was getting off topic, it was just so damned hard to think straight lately. And it was weird…the whole damn thing. Talking to a person who probably can't hear you and you can't even hear yourself.

He fidgeted with the edge of her blanket. "I'll miss you … a lot… I'll miss everyone. But I thought you should know that I'll miss you the most, even if you hate me. I'm sorry, I'm sorry for everything. I hope you get better, I really do. I appreciate all you did for me, but I guess I was just impossible to save. But you did your best and I really appreciated everything, even if I didn't always act like I did." He sighed, "Well this is it then, I guess."

He paused a moment to take another breath and his eyes watched her monitors steady rhythms. He didn't dare look at her face at the moment, or her hands. The hands that offered him apples, handed him tools, held him when he was scared … He pushed it away, but it was getting harder... he needed to wrap this up, but he was procrastinating and he wasn't sure why.

He took a step back away from her bed, turning away, unable to face her even to say good bye. "I miss hearing a lot of things at the moment, but I can still hear your voice in my head. So I'm going to hold on to that, if that's okay with you. All right, Boss… Beka, I'm going now… I love you."

And he fled.

In his absence he would miss a lot of things, small minute, but important things… his bunk, his tools…a weak and pale hand reaching out for him unseen in the darkness, or maybe in spite of it.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

man I'm getting depressed ….. Anyone up for a bit of action? Stay tuned


	22. Chapter 21

Thanks for the comments and thanks to Eljay for the Beta

I stole a little tech from stargate atlantis...hope they don't mind

* * *

Harper ran. 

It had been six months since Harper had seen the inside Andromeda's corridors but he was wishing for them now. But, like most things lately, it was a fleeting wistful thought. He pulled his scarf tighter around his sore neck. Damn, he hated being outside in the cold and his brand new dataport felt like a lump of ice. He jogged on but risked slowing down to glance at the device gripped in his gloved hand, quickly rubbing frost off the screen. It was a nifty thing and something he grew to depend on more than his liking. It was a life signs detector and GPA all built in to one. It had a shorter range than he liked but Uncle Sam didn't allow him much spending credits so he relied on what he could scrape together. _Crap, the little blinky lights were getting closer! _

Seamus huffed out a cloud of frosted air and picked up the pace, slipping slightly on the ice as he rounded a corner between buildings. They had been on this planet for about 8 days now. Uncle Sam was running some sort of scam with the local authorities while Harper ran reconnaissance for him. Sam hated the snow and the ice on this planet, but declared that it was 'too good of an opportunity to pass up.' But then again, he always said that. Seamus, however, kind of liked it here. It reminded him of Earth a bit, well the snow and ice anyways. The people were nothing like on Earth. Weirdly enough, a lot of people here looked like Fena. Weirdly pale alabaster skin and punk rocked coloured hair.

He ran on.

He had been watching the rotation of the guards outside of the embassy building. He saw a break in their rotation and slipped in to get a closer look at one of the security doors. He had his life signs detector, LSD for short, with him. But he was looking at the lock and hadn't noticed the official walking up beside him. When a shadow blocked some of his light, both he and the other guy jumped with surprise. Apparently the man had been searching through a briefcase type thing and hadn't seen him time; he nearly ran in to him. The guy's mouth yammered up and down, but since Harper was still as deaf as a Windlebeast, he had no clue what was being said. It didn't take a giant leap to guess that reinforcements were most likely being called. He wished vainly and briefly for his hearing before hitting the icy street at a dead run.

And that's what brought him to his current situation. Running through alleyways on a strange planet being chased by armed goons. He stopped again to catch his breath and reference his LSD. He blinked in to the night sky as it started to snow again. _Just great. Maybe Beka had been right about planets. _

He rubbed his eyes and pushed Beka out of his mind. The new stuff Uncle Sam had him on gave him the attention span of a mouse, it left him feeling distracted… dazed. He had been taking stuff since he'd left the Andromeda. Sam said at first it was to chase away his depression. But he didn't care what it was for, only that it made him feel better. It helped with the ache that seemed to take up residence in his chest. Next, Uncle Sam had said he needed to get a dataport to 'help with operations'. He had needed the medicine for pain. The cheap-ass dataport did not like him and was doing its best to be rejected by his system. He just wanted to be oblivious.

He caught a blur out of the corner of his eye. _Oh Gawd, determined bastards!_

And he ran.

* * *

She watched them chase him… a grey blur against the new-fallen snow. She followed silently biding her time. She could hear his screams; they were the screams of someone who could not hear them himself. Garbled and alien, frightened and pained. 

Her steps quickened.

They had him cornered, pressed against a wall that looked formed by hands not machine, clay bricks that glittered with frost. It would have almost been pretty, something from an ancient holiday card, figures silhouetted against the powder fresh snow… pretty except for the blood. The blood on his face and the blood she was about to spill. She charged her weapon and it whined against the cold with a low hum. Without blinking her eyes she pulled the trigger, killing the two men in uniform without batting an eye.

They fell in to the white, red spilling out of them leaving pools that melted the snow.

She stepped forward, her heart as cold as the air. _Was it him?_ She needed to confirm it. They had been searching far longer then she would like and she was tired of the chase.

His knees buckled and he sank to the ground. He blinked at her fuzzily; his eyes dilated way beyond the norm. She expected no less. Ragged dirty blonde hair stuck out of his hood, which had fallen back and away from his face in his struggles.

By the time his eyes finally focused on her, she was sure it was him. She activated her communicator to pass on the news. She was bringing him home.

He gaped at her like a fish out of water, and emitted a low-pitched moan she was sure he wasn't aware of. He tried to scramble away but he was too shocked, dazed and stoned to put up much resistance. She grabbed the back of his jacket and pulled him along as he tried to find his feet.

All she wanted was a hot bath and an equally hot cup of coffee. She had other work to do. Other fish to fry, she had enough of this one.

* * *

His breath was coming in gasps. Beka! Beka had come for him. She wasn't dead! He didn't know whether to cry, embrace her or run in fear. Maybe it wasn't her… she was acting so weird. Even if she hated him, she would have at least talked, not that he could hear her, or she would have shot him like she did the guards. Gads, she shot them! He never saw Beka out and out kill someone like that before. Something was definitely wrong but his brain couldn't puzzle it out_She was Alive_…_she was alive! It was unbelievable_. 

He had taken a couple of good shots to the chin that had left him spinning, and the new medicine Sam and given was wearing off…It was getting harder and harder to stay on his feet as his body started to ache.

He stumbled over a small ridge of snow and nearly lost his feet as she kept pulling him along not stopping for anything.

He let her drag him along, unsure of what else to do but when he saw a dark looming shape in the distance he dug his heels. Pure and simple panic overwhelmed him. He pulled back hissing and spitting in a desperate attempt for freedom. _She couldn't make him go back, he wouldn't go_. Beka paused then looking back with a scowl, as if her were nothing more than an annoying gnat. Unexpectantly and with the reflexes of cat she cuffed him upside the head, **_hard_**. He stumbled with pain and shock. Beka had hit him, Beka didn't hit. She swore, she threw things… sometimes should would horse around and slug him on the shoulder but she never hit …not for real. The shock of it all allowed his captor to pull him in side loading doors of the Eureka Maru.

Trance watched as the airlock door sealed itself. Finally closing off her two friends from the elements. They both looked horrible and the odds weren't in their favour. Trance knew the odds but decided to take her chances anyways. She had a way of sometimes swaying the odds in her favour more often then not. Harper had told her more then once that she could _get lucky anytime she wanted_. She knew he was just being his usual annoying self but in a way he wasn't wrong. So now she didn't rush forward to greet neither her lost friend nor her Captain but she waited tentatively bidding her time. Waiting for the right opportunity, the right moment…she needed to play her cards carefully.

"Seamus?"

He blinked at her eyes dilated and feral. _Was it possible he still couldn't hear?_ She had hoped he would at least have partial hearing back. She doubted his hearing would ever return to what it was but it should have been at least a bit better. No wonder he was so frightened.

She studied him for a moment more. He winter clothes were dirty and patched. It looked like he had done the repairs himself. His face was gaunt and pale, and it was obvious some foreign substance coursed through his veins. He stood with his back against the wall, rubbing the side of his face and panting like a cornered animal.

Beka shook off her warm jacket and dropped it on the floor. She did a cursory glace at her two companions giving a nod to Trance. With no more ado she strode towards the command area.

Trance watched Harper's eyes track her. Time to make her move.

The young woman took a small step forward, her hands out in a placating manor. "She hasn't been the same since she woke up."

Seamus eyes flickered back to her. He was wary and trembling. He couldn't here her but Trance talked anyways. It seemed natural and Harper needed normal and it just felt like the right thing to do. "Ever since she woke up, she's been cut off. She is afraid to feel, to be hurt again. It's like she's broken." She took another smaller step towards him. "I know you don't understand at the moment but you both need to be fixed and this time I can't do it. You need to fix each other, it's the only way the greater good will get accomplished."

She was close now. His shaking increased but he did not duck away. Her hand reached forward barely touching his cheek where a nasty bruise was forming. She gazed sadly in to his fever bright blue eyes. "What has happened to my best friend? Are you still in there? We'll find you don't worry, its just going to be a little while longer then things will get better."

He left hand came up quick touching the side if his forehead. There was a loud electrical snap and he shrieked with panic and pain. Trance grabbed his shoulders pulling him forward in to a tight embrace. Holding him tight as he fought against his fears.

"Shhh its okay. It's just a tracking device so we can find you again. I'm sorry it hurt, but it was important."

After a few moments he seemed to settle down a little so slowly let him go, stepping back watching him. The panic was still rampant in his eyes but he seemed to have reclaimed some control over his body.

He backed away from her now, slowly inching towards the airlock.

She watched him not moving a muscle.

Quickly then his had struck out hitting the door release, and it hissed open. He paused meeting her eyes once more, as if he was searching for something he couldn't quit grasp. Not finding it he turned on his heels and ran out the door in to the snowy night.

She watched him go, wiping errant tears from her eyes. "Soon," she whispered. "Soon."

TBC


End file.
